


Flower Shop Camellias | klance |

by izzyMC



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gay, Gay Keith (Voltron), Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Slow Burn Keith/Lance (Voltron), camellias, flowershopcamellias, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izzyMC/pseuds/izzyMC
Summary: An AU where Keith works at a flower shop in the sleepy, ocean-side town Altea Bay. Keith can't help but notice the sunny boy who delivers flowers for the shop and Lance can't help but want to get to know the mysterious raven-haired boy who knows everything about flowers. It's their last summer before Keith and Lance have to go to college, but who knows what this summer could have in store?Based off of the Fanart by the amazing Marcia (https://m-arci-a.tumblr.com/post/149152391410/you-are-the-most-beautiful-flower-ive-ever-seen)Updates every Monday :)
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 47





	1. Snapdragons

It was a soft Wednesday afternoon; the glowing warm light of the summer sun was seeping through the shop windows, creating shadows of the lettering on the front display windows--Altea Bay Flowers-- upon the speckled linoleum floor. More shadows like reaching fingers waved upon the floor; the black pictures of roses, carnations, asters, gerbera daisies, tiger lilies, snapdragons, chrysanthemums, and the hanging vines which fell silently from their perch in woven baskets. The murmur of a wind chime tinkled from it's position above the front door which Keith had propped open with a wooden chuck. The May wind blew in with the carefulness of a whisper, abounding in steady streams, through the misshapen black waves that stemmed off Keith's head, barely touching his shoulders. The sun had begun to set, making the sky look like an impressionist painting, with the swirls of paint in smudges of blues, purples, pinks and yellows.

Across the street was a diner, only beginning to hop with activity. On Wednesdays at Altea Bay, the diner owned by the Seidou family served half a pie free. Both the flower shop and the diner overlooked the glimmering expanse of the bay which the town was so famously named after. It was days like these when Keith was left alone to tend to the shop, his boss Kelli entrusting him till it's close at 7:30. He sometimes liked to think that the setting sun made the flowers smell more intense too; he would inhale and exhale as deeply as he could, feeling as full as he possibly could of the dizzyingly sweet smell. 

He was stringing together a bouquet of different colored strands of Snapdragons, tying them together in twine then wrapping them up in the paper packaging. Someone's grandmother had called the day before asking for them for her granddaughter's flute recital. 

No matter how much his cousin Shiro taunted him for it, there was nothing more that he liked than making the bouquets for his customers; more so, he liked reading the message cards even better. He made sure to take extra long while sticking the card in with the flowers after the customer had handed him back the little white rectangle. He loved reading the scribbles of the handwriting, the humps and the flicks of the penmanship, his eyes countlessly tracing the words, "I'll love you endlessly" and "Happy Birthday" and "Congratulations". Even the messages painfully scripted, "Feel better soon" and "I'm sorry for your loss' made him feel the universality of it all. 

His phone buzzed beside him as he sat at the cash register, the screen illuminating a message from Kelli, reminding him to water the succulent gardens in the back of the shop before he left. He caught his first whiff of apple pie for the night, hearing laughter from across the street as a group of four high school kids entered the diner. The wind chime murmured once more. Keith was expecting the grandmother at 6:30. Absentmindedly, he twirled a wavering curl on the side of his head he had tilted towards the bay. Many times before it seemed to him like the water of the bay was rustling like leaves, winking like diamonds, movement never ceasing, striving constantly. Keith sighed, allowing himself to close his eyes just for a moment, the summer wind brushing up against his arm hair, sending tingles and little shivers to his body. 

"Oh, hello," a dreamy voice announced,

A bit startled, Keith opened his eyes upon the grandmother who had called earlier.

"I hope I didn't disrupt you," She smiled, more proud than disappointed.

"It's no problem ma'am." Keith returned, his voice sounding more sleepy than he had expected.

She looked like any other grandmother, donning a lavender sweater with a patterned skirt; her silvery hair was pulled into a low ponytail in the back. Walking up the the register, she eyed the bouquet that Keith had resting beside him, the pink, red, yellow and white snapdragons. 

"My granddaughter's favorite," She sighed, her eyes just as dreamy as her voice. "Their name is as whimsical as they look,"

Keith smiled back upon her, feeling sluggish and heavy with the soothing feel of the night. Behind the grandmother, Keith heard the familiar ring of a bicycle bell, the bell of the shop's delivery boy.

Lance McClain, a tall and thin boy with tanned skin and chocolatey brown hair parked his bike unlocked in the front of the shop. Lance seemed like the kind of boy who was always beaming. Keith thought that if the sun above Altea Bay could ever be personified, it would look like Lance. He had joking, blue eyes like the sea, and light, almost unnoticeable freckles painted across his cheeks and nose. During the summer, they too made an appearance across his shoulders and fell down his back. Today he was wearing his "delivery jacket", an old army jacket that he had found at some second hand store--it was obviously big on him--that he had repurposed with bright orange reflective tape strips as bands on both arms to help him be seen better on his delivery trips.

"Sup Flower Crown," He bobbed his head up, flashing his signature toothy smile in Keith's general direction.

"Flower Crown" had become Lance's nickname for Keith a couple weeks after he met him and Keith happened to be making flower crowns for a girl's sixteenth birthday. The boy teased him for it, doubling over laughing finding it somehow hilarious. Keith didn't mind, and chose to ignore him. He would have liked to see Lance try and make one of those, it was harder than it looked.

Lance had noticed Keith was working with a customer and turned to the painter's bucket full of white carnations, plucked one out, then stuck it behind his right ear, ignoring the awkward length of the stem still attached. No matter what Lance did, it seemed to Keith he looked like a dork doing it.

His attention was brought back to the grandmother, now draping her arms on the counter of the register.

"How much will that be?" She cocked her head playfully.

"12.99" Keith responded, taking cash from the veiny hand of the grandmother. The bell of the old fashioned register sounded with a resonating "Ching!"

"Would you like to include a message with that?" Keith asked hopefully. He slid the paper rectangle towards her with a black pen he had on hand.

The grandmother immediately look the pen, writing in the most unique cursive Keith had ever seen; it was ilegible to read upside down. 

Lance walked behind the register to stand next to him, then took a pair of scissors from the utility drawer to cut off the stem of the carnation, sticking it behind his ear again once it was the appropriate size. When Lace walked into the flower shop, he liked to feel as if he owned it, displaying to customer he knew where the scissors were, and carefully cut the flower as Keith had taught him.

The grandmother finished her message, and slid the paper and the pen back to Keith. Slowly like he had practiced, her took the card in his hand, regarding it as he took a thin iron rod with a cardholders and tucked the card in.

"I am so proud of you Claire," She had written.

Keith smiled once again at the old woman, not trying to hide the fact that he had just seen what she had written.

"Here's your change," He placed a few more coins into the shaking hand.

"Thank you," She paused, reading his name tag pinned on his red florist apron, "Keith," He gave a polite nod back. 

Lance slid onto the register desk, sitting in the same place where the snapdragons had been resting moments ago. Keith sat hunched over in the stool, resting his chin on his arms folded on the table. He briefly looked up at his companion, noticing this chocolate hair becoming even lighter in the sunlight, almost looking like it was glowing. Lance was swinging his legs, chewing his pink bubblegum contently, facing the back of the shop as Keith went back to watching the steady flow of customers into the diner. Lance popped a bubble, unusually quiet. The two boys sat in silence, sounds from the diner, the bay and a few seagulls becoming the soundtrack. Keith felt his eyes become heavy once more, his eyes closing, resting like he had been doing before. With the peace of the shop and the evening, it was almost impossible to not feel tired.

Normally Lance was annoying, but it was nothing that Keith could not handle. Like today, Lance often stole flowers, whether they were for behind his ear or his mother or some girl he thought was cute, Keith wished that he had more respect. Not to mention, Lance was not the most careful of delivery boys, he had a track record for being late to deliveries and presenting flowers a bit squashed or brown. Keith had to go out of his way and purchase a flower delivery basket for Lance to attach to his bike so that the shop wouldn't lose business. Kelli was Lance's sister's best friend. He was guaranteed the job as soon as he asked for it.

"Here for a delivery?" Keith inquired, his voice low.

"Oh yeah!" Lance jumped off the counter, startled because Keith had just reminded him of what he had forgotten. Lance's voice had squeaked, causing him to blush. For an eighteen year old boy, Lance had never seemed to escape voice cracks. Keith arose from his place at the register to the bouquet of red roses and baby's breath he had made before the snapdragons. Happy Anniversary My Love the card had said. He handed the bouquet to Lance as the tanned boy proudly snatched it from Keith's hands.

"I won't let you down!" He beamed and winked. Keith took Lance's pay from the register, a small amount since Lance only had one delivery for the day. Regardless, the boy took the ten dollar bill with pride.

From what Keith could tell, Lance didn't mind Keith even though it seemed like he was often brooding when they were in each other's company. Lance's energetic demeanor contrasted from Keith's placidity. The two boys attended the same school yet had never really talked to each other. It was like there was some strange unwritten arrangement that neither of them had really had any interest in becoming friends. There was no reason to this, yet many times Keith wondered why this was the way it had to be. 

For some reason, today Lance decided that would be the end of that.

"Are you ever gonna go over there and get some stupid pie rather than just stare at them?" Lance had stopped at the doorframe of the store. He looked back at Keith with his blue eyes that seemed to be wistfully grinning like his mouth was.

Keith was unsure how to respond, normally during this time Lance had already zipped off on his steel blue bike. "I--um..." 

The wind coasted through Lance's delivery jacket, creating an effect like a cape flying behind him. "That's what you want right?"

Still confused, Keith toyed with his name tag, trying to interpret why suddenly Lance had said such a thing; and when had he noticed him mindlessly staring across the street. 

Lance scoffed, "Listen Flower Crown, don't think I don't know that you want to get out of here. Geez, staying here in the store all day, staring out the door at them. Don't tell me that you like it in here because I know man, I knoooww. I hate to say it my friend but wake up and smell the roses." He crossed his arms in contempt, obviously to let Keith know that he was proud of the wisdom that he had just imparted on his coworker. 

"You seriously did not just say that," Keith felt embarrassed for his cliche and facepalmed in his honor. "I work in a flower shop. I smell roses all day..." 

"Too literal!! My bad, bad pun, but listen," He walked a few steps back into the shop, "When I get back, lets go, lets go to the diner, get some pie, cut loose, see some chicks; I know you'll have fun. Come on. If anyone knows a good time it's Lance McClain. Can't have you sitting getting pale in here with the plants...or should I say paler." 

"Pale?" Keith glanced at his digital watch and the time read 6:51.

What are you doing? Keith thought, uneasily looking at Lance after this gesture. He shot him a look back to him gave him a skeptical answer. Why are you doing this now?

"Well?"

"I don't know, I have to close up..." Keith nervously scratched the back of his head, remembering the succulents in the back of the shop. "Listen you don't have to..." 

"It's a simple yes or no question Keith," 

Lance wore that common smug look on his face that crinkled his nose and made his freckles bunch together, a classic dorky look Keith a noticed before. He softened, then noticing that the delivery boy had called him by his real name. 

"I guess so" Keith gave in, looking back at his watch, even though almost no time had passed since he had checked last. 

The boy cheered, and gave a little jump, his jacket/cape flapping as he moved. "You're on!" Lance's beaming smile looked as if he could shoot sun rays off his face. "Be back, don't bore yourself to death,"

Keith watched the sunny boy bike off, ringing his bell once more, the flowers in the basket hopping with the moves of the bike, the hum of the wheels fading away. Some clouds covered the real sun creating momentary darkness. Lance carried away his energy with him, the store becoming still again. For a moment, Keith thought about that sunny boy, he was one who was always moving, he always had something to do, something to say. Kind of like the bay. He had thought. Keith felt his face growing hot; he wavered, then decided, feeling some kind of something in his chest behind the red apron; maybe it was because the sunshine boy had singed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for starting my fic! I started this story about 3 years ago and being cooped up in my house now has brought me back to it :) I hope you'll like this cute lil story about Lance and Keith. I've been a VLD fan almost since the beginning and I've always wanted to write a story about these two. Thanks again! 
> 
> Next time: Lance has an unfortunate accident and a fortunate meeting...


	2. Poppies

Lance realized after the fact that he was extremely lucky that he did not fall off his bike during his delivery. Looking ahead he saw the heat waves wiggling above the asphalt road. His knees felt limp and his legs shook as he pedaled up the highest hill in Altea Bay. Above him, seagulls screeched and dove around his head in scattered patterns. He imagined his sister laying on the beach with her friends watching the setting sun. No doubt she had brought her guitar and was already softly strumming some Beatles song their father had taught them. He pretended he could hear the careful chords playing Here, There and Everywhere; his favorite. 

At the crest of the hill he stopped a moment to look behind him. The craggy rocks that met the lips of the bay were harsh and sharp but the pale white sand cupped them gently. Lance snickered to himself thinking that the color of the sand almost look like the same shade of Keith's lanky arms. The curves in the little sand dunes mirrored that of Keith's arm muscles, defined, yet steady. Lance also checked on the bouquet of roses that rested in his basket. Thankfully it looked like he hadn't destroyed them yet. He knew that when he returned with a good tip Keith would be proud of him. 

In front of Lance laid the expanse of Altea Bay's poppy field. The vibrate orange flowers swayed back and fourth in the wind, left and right, and left and right again. Lance's senses felt tricked. The sweetness of the air reminded him of the flower shop. The shop was often full of them as well, in fact, they were the most popular selling flower, and it isn't often that you see poppies in flower shops. It was said that they grew in the color of the solstice sun, the town even had a festival for the day and everything, and of course Keith ran the flower shop's stand, that was where he had learned to make the flower crowns. A little smile drifted on to Lance's face thinking about the dark haired boy wearing an dainty little flower crown made of baby's breath. The tiny white flowers stood out against the stark black color of his hair like sparkling white stars orbiting around his head. 

Lance chuckled to himself and pedaled a little faster. A light blue Mini Cooper whizzed passed him and chirped out a couple of friendly honks. Lance whipped his head back to try and get a glance of who had passed him but they had already descended down the hill behind him. 

"Hmm." He said to himself, his head cranked behind him. He hadn't known anyone in town who had a car like that. 

The delivery boy was brought back when he fumbled over a pot hole in the road causing this bike to shake violently and lean to the side of the road. All at once Lance was thrown from his bike, and into the poppy field met by the edge of the road, his bicycle bell giving a scared ring as it crashed along with him. He had somehow been able to brace himself with his hands to avoid a head first collision but his legs were left tangled in the bike. A couple scrapes on his knees and legs began to display tiny beads of blood. Lance cursed to himself as he tried to remove his legs from the bike knowing that he would definitely be seeing some bruises later. 

He suddenly remembered: "The flowers!" Lance frantically looked around him to find where the bouquet had fallen. 

The flowers, as well as the delivery crate had separated from his bike a couple paces behind him, the flowers looking dejected where they were marooned. Carefully Lance got up and and limped to the flowers, picking them up and examining them; a couple heads had been crushed and a couple petals lost, but otherwise, they didn't look too bad. Lance's chest was still rising and falling from the adrenaline still coursing through his body. He struggled then to put the delivery crate on to the back of his bike yet it would not connect to the apparatus Keith had made for him. In a moment of defeat, Lance slugged the blue milk crate over top of his head. 

"Yep, I definitely look like an idiot." Lance sighed, biking away with the bouquet in hand. 

~*~

When Lance arrived at his delivery destination, he was already a couple minutes late. The house he had arrived at was a beautiful pale white and teal blue beach house. The house rested on the tip of a hill overlooking the bay, the kind of house that has it's own personal staircase leading down to the beach. The crash of waves echoed around the house and up to the driveway where Lance cast down his bike and the milk crate on his head. Nervously, Lance plucked through the partially crushed flowers, pulling the better looking ones on top of the wilted ones. He skipped up the wood steps to the front door, where a hanging wind chime clanged into an odd cacophony of sound as the breeze ran it's fingers through it. He rang the doorbell and waited for a couple moments. While he was waiting Lance was able to catch a couple more moments of the sunset: the glowing orange ball almost touching the horizon warmed the sky with an ombre of colors: pinks and red and yellow melted together while the night came sweeping with light lavender clouds. Sunsets like these reminded Lance how much he would miss them when he would leave for the Garrison at the end of the summer. 

"Ah," A gentle voice cooed. "You must be the delivery boy from the flower shop." 

Before Lance stood a tall and elegant man with warm brown skin and long white hair tied into a loose ponytail on his shoulder. He looked wise and kind with a couple wrinkles cupped under his eyes. 

"Yes, sir!" Lance exclaimed, confident, but it was a guise to hide his anxiousness. 

The man took the bouquet and politely smiled. He didn't seem to notice anything. From his pocket he took out a twenty and a coupled singles and placed them in Lance's hand. 

"Keep the change." He softly said. "I'm sure my wife will love these flowers...25 years of marriage and I can't buy her enough of them."

From the comment Lance felt warm inside his chest. He thought to himself how nice it must be to love someone so much so that you wish you could give them all the flowers in the world. He gave the man a nod in response. 

Lance then became startled; he hoped that the message card hadn't fallen out: he had forgotten to check. A bead of sweat came sprinting down his back under his jacket and the stinging sensation coming from the scrapes on his knees reintroduced itself. 

"Thank you for the business siR!" He choked, a voice crack hitting him at the worst moment. "Have a good evening!" 

The boy then turned away, feeling it was his time to leave. He kicked up a bit of gravel with his flip flop kicking himself internally for being so clumsy. He donned his milk crate helmet and then picked up his rickety bike, trying to leave the place as fast as he could, but before he could mount his bike, the sound of their gravel driveway crackled towards him. Lance scrunched up his body hoping he wasn't about to get ran over. 

From the cracks of the milk crate he saw it: the light blue Mini Cooper. 

The car turned off and out stepped the most beautiful girl that Lance had ever seen in his life. She was slender and athletic with the same warm brown skin as the man in the house. Her long and wavy white hair fell around her and bounced in away that almost looked angelic. She looked to Lance with the most shockingly gorgeous blue eyes that held many different shades of the color from dark to electric to grey. She wore a linen white shirt that blew in the motions of the wind and a long floral printed skirt. For a moment, Lance wondered if Keith could identify any of those flowers. 

Upon noticing that Lance had been staring at her, the girl stopped in her tracks, looking cautiously at him. Suddenly, her expression turned to a friendly smile and her lips curled into a short laugh. "Nice hat." 

Lance immediately took the crate off his head, his cheeks growing rosy. "Oh! Uh, yeah, I uh... you know, forgot my helmet at home and I had this on me so..." Lance flashed her a toothy grin while he toyed with the crate in his hands, trying to stay cool. 

The girl chuckled. "Don't know how much good that's gonna do you." 

She had an accent of some kind, Lance figured it could be British. A girl with an accent? Those are hard to find in Altea Bay. 

"I'm Lance McClain," he started, beginning his usual speech. "I don't think I've seen you around here before, and I for one would love to see you around more." The boy winked, as he did every time he did this little introduction. "Was that you that honked at me on the hill?"

The breathtaking girl rolled her eyes and made her way to the passenger seat where she took out a pie from Seidou's. Lance could recognize the smell of their blueberry pie from miles away. 

"Nice to meet you...Lance." The girl returned, deadpan. "You'll have to excuse me I need to get inside and join my parents." 

Lance's heart skipped a beat when she said his name. With her accent it sounded so royal. 

"Of course." Lance quipped, stepping aside. His eyes followed her as she made her way up to the porch. Even the way that she walked left Lance entranced. 

After she shut the door Lance placed the crate back upon his head, feeling dizzy from just being around her. He gulped hard. Oh man would Keith love to hear about this. Keith never talked about girls and mostly just listened to Lance blab on and on. But this girl? No one could ignore how stunning she was. Lance wondered what she would look like in one of those flower crowns from the shop...he sighed just thinking about it. She'd definitely look better than Keith, that's for sure. 

Lance pedaled away from the beach house at full speed, the milk crate on his head the least of his worries. The boy kept replaying the moment she had said his name. 

"Lance." 

The delivery boy smiled wide, knowing that he would somehow see her again. He sped over the poppy field on the way back downtown, the sky chasing him with the colors of dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Lance isn't so clumsy next time... ;) I hope to write more chapters in the future from Lance's perspective! It seems like he has quite the eye for Allura...
> 
> Next time: Lance gets a bit of a scolding but Keith can't stay mad for too long...time to try some of the Seidou's legendary pie too.


	3. Dahlias

Keith checked his watch as he stood outside of the flower shop, keys in hand. He had locked up the shop about ten minutes ago. Lance was late and Keith wasn't surprised. Across the street, the warm yellow glow from the Seidou's diner shone with excitement as the customers hustled in and out. From the front windows he observed the customers in their booths: cute old couples, teenagers on their first dates, parents wrangling their kids and wiping whipped cream off their faces. The small town all seemed to be congregating in the diner tonight. A sinking feeling told Keith that he shouldn't rain on Lance's parade and tell him that the crowded restaurant was the last place that he wanted to be, he simply enjoyed the quiet more. 

Keith kept his eyes focused to the edge of downtown where Lance would come rolling down the hills, that crazed look in his eyes that he had when he appeared to be hitting light speed on his bike. The air around him appeared to get a bit cooler with the setting sun; Keith hugged his unzipped black hoodie a bit tighter around his torso. 

Where could he be? 

A small pang of worry started to build up in the pit of his stomach. Keith knew that Lance had a habit for getting distracted, which often cost him. Lance had gone through a couple bikes during Keith's time knowing him. Keith's eyes wandered over to his own bike that was chained up outside of the shop. Was he lost? What if that idiot had gone and gotten himself hit by a car? For a moment, Keith wondered what would happen if he went to go find him. He felt silly thinking about it, he was sure Lance was fine...but his stomach still felt tight. 

Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, Keith reached for his phone in his pocket. 

Where are you? I'm done closing up. 

Keith had never texted Lance before. The two had exchanged numbers when Lance started working, more so as a formality for becoming "coworkers". 

As soon as he clicked his phone off, behind him, Keith heard the familiar ring of Lance's bicycle bell. The sunny boy was ringing it frantically but Keith couldn't see that crazed look because it appeared that Lance had a milk crate over his head. Keith's brow furrowed, confused. Soon Keith recognized it was the flower crate that he had put on to the back of Lance's bike. The worry that he had felt faded away into disappointment. What had he done this time? Keith knew that by tomorrow morning, there was bound to be a complaint in the shop voicemail box. 

Even though the idiot had a milk crate over his head, Lance seemed to be carrying with him the last bits of sunlight with him as he rode into town with the night darkness following him, ready to snuff out the last bit of day that was left. Maybe it was because Keith was glad that Lance wasn't ran over, but the smallest crack of smile crept on to his face. 

When Lance reached the shop entrance, he slammed on his brakes, wheels screeching against the pavement. He proudly took of the milk crate and dismounted, looking like he had biked through hell. His mousy brown hair was disheveled and his clothes were smeared with dirt. Lance gave Keith his signature toothy grin and nonchalantly handed him the milk crate. 

"Keith my friend, you will not believe what just happened to me." Lance proudly held his head up high stretching and cracking his back. 

"What did happen to you?" Keith stared at the milk crate in his hands blankly. 

"I'll tell ya," Lance winked to Keith, causing the dark haired boy to feel a weird buzzing in his head. "I think I just saw an angel." Lance dramatically made a rainbow hand motion in front of his face. 

Keith clenched his jaw. "A what?" He shoved the crate at Lance. "How did this get detached from your bike?" 

"Oh, yeah that...I fell, bu-but that's besides the point--" 

"You crashed?" 

"Well that's a dramatic way of saying it, but technically yes." 

"You didn't wreck the flowers again did you?" Keith crossed his arms. 

"Don't give me that look Flower Crown, the flowers were fine, he didn't notice a thing." 

Keith threw up his arms in defeat. "You gonna make Kelli loose customers!" 

"Listen buddy you're missing the point, didn't you hear me say angel??" 

"I'm more concerned about the fact that you're putting the integrity of this business at risk." 

"Jeez why so serious? I said it was fine. Remember what I said? Smell the roses?" 

Keith didn't respond. He had already gone over this with Lance and didn't want to go over it again. His head fell, not knowing what to return back with. He hadn't noticed it before, but Lance's legs were covered in scrapes and dried blood. 

"You're bleeding Lance." Keith's voice was lower, he felt a weird surge to act knowing the sunny boy was hurt. 

"Oh that? It's nothing, it happened when I fell. It doesn't hurt." 

"You can't go into Seidou's looking like that, what if Mrs. Seidou sees you?" Keith was lightly aware that Lance's family and the Seidou's were family friends. Mrs. Seidou was a mom to everyone in town anyways, she would definitely make a big fuss if he saw Lance with those scrapes. "You should go back in and wash them off at least; get the dirt off." 

"Alright, as long as I can tell you about her." Lance's expression turned serious. 

Keith rolled his eyes. "Fine." 

~*~

In the back room of the flower shop, Lance sat on the counter top next to the big sink among pots, plastic bouquet holders, rubber bands and a couple bags of dirt. Keith had retrieved their small first aid kit from the front desk. First, Lance took a wet paper towel to clean off the dirt from his knees. He winced a little once the cold towel met his raw skin. 

"Ouch" Lance scrunched his eyebrows together. 

Keith looked up to the boy as he sat near him on a stool. "I can do it." He said calmly. The two boys locked eyes momentarily before awkwardly looking away. Lance reluctantly passed him the paper towel and Keith scooted closer. Keith dabbed at the scrapes carefully, then began wiping. Lance's irritated knees had turned pink. He cautiously grabbed Lance's calf to hold it steady. He felt his cheeks get a bit warm when his skin came into contact with Lance's. Keith kept his head down. It was uncomfortably quiet. The florescent lights above them flickered. Keith was meticulous and then moved on to the other scrapes. He didn't like it when Lance was quiet, it was unlike him to have not words escaping his mouth at lightning fast speed. At the same time it was a bit nice Keith thought, Lance's presence isn't the worst. 

Keith took to putting band aids on the deeper looking scrapes after putting on a bit of Neosporin. He was putting on the last band aid when he felt something brush the top of his head. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He looked up to see Lance with a small leaf in his hand. 

"This was caught in your hair." He inspected the leaf. "You making flower crowns without me Flower Crown?" Lance teased, a smirk growing. 

"Shut up." Keith gulped and took the leaf from his fingers and threw it on the floor. He walked away throwing away the band aid wrappers while trying to hide his face which was getting even warmer than before. 

"You guys got a shirt I can borrow that doesn't have dirt on it?" Lance twirled around pointing to all the dirt bags. 

Keith passed him a clean potting shirt, an old one of Kelli's that said "ABHS Swim and Dive". He quickly turned around as to avoid looking at the boy who would soon be shirtless, its out of respect. He assured himself. After, the two headed back out of the shop, locked the doors and Lance's bike to the rack, then crossed the street to Seidou's. 

~*~

By the time that the two boys entered the diner, the line had died down and almost all of the booths and tables were occupied. Except for one. 

"Hey! Lucky us." Lance exclaimed, leading them to the booth. 

Keith nervously fidgeted with his hoodie string. He recognized a few faces from school. He hadn't had many friends from school and especially after graduation he didn't care too much about knowing or remembering names. He assumed they probably didn't know who he was too, and he didn't mind it staying that way. Still, he enjoyed studying the movement within the dinner: the hustling waitresses, friends laughing together, Mrs. Seidou behind the diner counter beaming and handing out plates of pie, and boxing up to-go orders. She was a very kind looking woman, short and stout with graying dark brown hair. Wrinkles shaped her face but they didn't make her look tired at all. 

The inside of the diner had a very 1970's feel to it with red leather seats and booths, the wooden tables and counter and thin mirrors lining the walls, creating the effect that the single room dining area was a lot bigger than it was. The air smelled sweet and buttery from the pies baking in the ovens, a fruity smell was pungent and no one specific fruit could be identified. A symphony of voices collided, cheerful. The vintage light fixtures created a happy white-yellow light that shone like the summer moon. The atmosphere created a content summer feeling that Keith soaked up for a moment, it was something that he had spent a long time imagining from the shop desk. He glanced out the window to look at the darkened shop across the street. So this is the view from the other side. 

"Watcha thinking about?" 

Lance's voice brought him back to the diner. 

"Oh. Nothing." Keith slouched in his seat. 

"Ah. Alright. Well, now I think it is time for me to tell you about the most beautiful girl in the world." Lance leaned forward and his eyes became glossy. 

"Oh yeah, that." Keith pretended to be interested. What was more interesting to him was how deep blue Lance's eyes were, like the deepest depths of the bay. He didn't think he had been as close to them as he was now. 

"Alright alright. So get this, I was doing the delivery and it's going great I'm talking to this dude, I give him the roses blah blah and THEN, I'm about to leave so I put that crate on my head and I hear the sound of someone pulling up the driveway and I see this car, which by the way, let me backtrack a bit. On my way to this house I'm pedaling through the the Altean poppy field and this car honks at me and I'm like "I don't know anyone who has that car" so I'm trying to see who they are and uhhh that's when I fell off my bike BUT that's besides the point! Anyway, I"m at the house and the car pulls up and guess who gets out of the car?" 

"The girl?" Keith already was bored by the story. 

"THE GIRL!" Lance, thrilled, threw his arms up in the air. "And Keith, let me tell you she was gorgeous, beautiful, breathtaking, amazing, I've never seen a girl like her before. She had this incredible actually white hair that looked so soft and that I'm sure smells like daises." The boy gradually become more starry eyed as he compiled his list of adjectives to describe her. Keith could tell he was running out. 

"Did you talk to her?" Keith figured as soon as he got the story over with, the sooner they could drop the topic. 

"Come on man, you know I did." Lance looked smug at Keith sitting across from him. From his perspective, he had made the impression of all impressions on her. It was only a matter of time before she was searching town for him. 

"What'll it be for you boys?" A twenty-something waitress walked up to their table, little strands of her blonde hair falling out of her neatly made bun. She wore the same uniform they all did at Seidou's: a pale yellow dress with white buttons. She had a bit of makeup on, but not too much to be off-putting. Once Lance saw her it was almost like the angel girl didn't even exist. Is there any girl in the world that Lance isn't crazy for?

"Hey puddin'" Lance flashed her a sly look. "I'll take a half a blueberry and my friend will take--" He looked at Keith expectantly. He hadn't even had the chance to look at the menu he was too busy listening to Lance. 

"Coconut." He blurted. Keith didn't even like coconut creme pie, it was just the first thing that came to mind. 

"Sounds good," she smiled, writing down their order, then walking away.

"So, as I was saying, this girl..." 

Lance's words faded away, and Keith's focus faded to to the small vase on their table. The tiny blue glass vase held a three dahlias: pink, yellow and fuchsia. Keith had actually cut the flowers for Seidou's this morning like he always did on Wednesdays. Hunk Seidou came every Wednesday at 9AM like clockwork bearing payment and a friendly smile. Keith figured he was probably around somewhere, Hunk had a way with making the pies like his mother; as Keith had heard. 

Keith took the yellow one from the vase and studied it. He wondered how many people had sat in that same booth that day and looked at the same flower he had cut this very morning. He wondering if someone saw it and it made them happy. 

"--Are you even listening?" Lance wove his hand in front of Keith's face. 

"Yeah." Keith put the flower back.

"You spend all day in that shop and still you're messing with the flowers, I brought you here to get you out of there. You gotta work with me." 

Keith snapped out if it but that didn't stop him from making the impatient quip: "Are you done going on about the angel girl? Do you even know her name?" 

Lance appeared to shrink a bit. "No, but--" 

"Lance! Keith!" Hunk and found the two sitting in their booth and invited himself to sit down. The burly boy had his hair held back with an orange bandanna and had flour on his face. His white cook's apron was stained with all the colors of the rainbow, fragments of pie filling creating an abstract painting on the white canvas. 

Lance cheered up. "Hunk! My guy! Working hard or hardly working?" Hunk laughed in response. 

"Ah! I just love summer, Half-Pie Wednesdays are so much better during the summer. You guys order some?" 

"You bet!" Lanced beamed. "Of course I got the blueberry," The sunny boy looked proud of himself for this accomplishment. 

"It's nice seeing you here Keith!" Hunk gave the pale boy a playful punch on the arm from across the table. Keith gave an anxious smile in response. "Listen, Pidge is on her way, she's got the new Legendary Defender's game! It just came out yesterday. I totally call being the blue lion." Hunk was so excited it looked like he was about to cry. 

"Easy there buddy, everyone knows that I'm the blue paladin. You can be the yellow one, or fight Veronica for the red." 

Hunk frowned, but it soon faded when the waitress came back with the half-pies. "Oh boy, come on Lance, let me have a piece, I've been slaving back there all day." Hunk gave Lance his best puppy-dog eyes. 

"Go ahead man." 

Keith looked down dejectedly at his coconut creme pie. He had seriously made a mistake after the smell of Lance's pie wafted over in his direction. 

Outside, the chugging of a motorcycle engine boomed closer. Keith immediately looked to the street. 

"Hey pass me that spoon" Hunk said to Lance, popping pieces of crust into his mouth.

The motorcyclist pulled up to the front of the diner, dressed in a leather jacket and black jeans. Keith smiled widely. The rider took of their matte black helmet and raked their hand through their styled black hair. The rider caught Keith's eyes watching him from inside. Shiro smiled back at his cousin and headed towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder who it is ;) Although Lance won't admit it, he thinks that Keith's dark long hair looks super cool on him, there's another reason why he calls him Flower Crown...
> 
> I really tried my best to maintain all of the VLD's personalities intact and I had a lot of fun writing for Hunk! 
> 
> Keith and I also have something in common...I also don't like Coconut cream pie haha. 
> 
> Next time: Paladins! To your Lions! Keith has a little secret he doesn't want the group to know and we'll meet a bit of Lance's family.


	4. Peonies

Shiro strolled into the diner, steady with his head held high, his hands kept in the pockets of his leather jacket. The older boy's composure never faltered; Keith would never admit it to his cousin, but he had always been jealous of the way that Shiro could walk into a room as if he owned it. While Lance and Hunk's conversation turned into fuzzy mumbles in the background, Keith wondered why his cousin had shown up to the diner that night. Keith didn't tell him that he was going. 

"--so what you're saying is that the arms are better than the legs? Come on Hunk, without the legs Voltron would just be rolling around and then how would he able to do all that cool alien killing stuff?" 

"But the arms wield the weapons!" 

"Hunk my friend, you must be forgetting how Voltron works. Remember ~the bond~? The legs can use weapons too!" 

Hunk shoved his last big bite of blueberry pie into his mouth. "Hmm, I don't know man, I would love to be the one to tear an alien warship in half with my sword." His eyes twinkled in adoration. 

Shiro gave his cousin a "sup" nod and went to go sit at the counter where he was kindly greeted by Mrs. Seidou. With the chatter from inside the diner, Keith couldn't hear what they were talking about. Another ring from the bells hanging over the door chimed as Lance and Hunk's pint sized friend Pidge walked in. She wore round wire glasses and had rebellious caramel colored hair that almost looked like she had cut it herself. The small girl wore a brightly colored green shirt with denim overalls adorned in space themed patches. A sprinkling of freckles adorned her cocky expression.

Pidge nonchalantly slid next to Keith and slammed her canvas backpack on the stable which was decorated with even more space patches. 

"I've got it all here: extra controllers, snacks, and..." She paused to reach into her backpack. "Voltron Legendary Defender: Marmora Rises!" She proudly displayed the game case. 

Lance dropped his fork in excitement and the two boys sitting across from Keith might as well have had hearts exploding from their eyes. 

"We gotta go play it!! Now!" Lance started putting on his delivery jacket. 

Keith was starting to wonder if they had forgotten that he was there. Hunk launched out of his seat to get pie boxes for them and Pidge stood at the edge of the table, urging Hunk to hurry up. Meanwhile Lance slapped down his payment on the table. Keith stared down at his untouched half-pie. 

"You gonna eat that bud?" Lance asked him noticing. 

"Yeah, I uh--" 

"Pack it up man and come with us! Voltron now, pie later!"He threw a pie box at Keith who barely caught it before it could get covered in whipped cream. Keith was shocked, Lance had never asked him to hang out before. 

In the midst of the excitement Keith remembered his cousin sitting over at the counter. He sat there peacefully, it looked like he was texting someone. Keith hesitantly started to pack up his pie. 

"Hurry up! The citizens of the universe need saving!" Lance said victoriously. Without saying anything he slapped down another bill on the table. 

"Oh," Keith didn't know what do say back to the gesture. "You uh, don't have to do that, I got it." 

"Forget about it Flower Crown, I wrecked your flower crate thingy, this should make up for it." Lance flashed him a sly smile, no different that he usually would, it this time it seemed more earnest to Keith. 

"You brought the car Pidge?" Lance asked as himself, Hunk and Pidge began to walk out the door. 

"What do you think, I flew here?" She playfully punched his arm. 

"Just a sec guys, I join you in a minute." Keith's eyes wandered to Shiro. 

Lance nodded. 

Keith didn't have a reason to feel nervous to tell his cousin that he would be hanging out with people, but somehow he did. 

"Hey." 

"Hey." Shiro have him a friendly smile. "I didn't expect to see you here." 

Keith chucked knowing that the jab on his anti-social tendencies was just a joke. "I didn't expect to see you here either. I thought you had homework for that summer class or something." 

"Got it done early." 

The younger boy toyed with his hoodie string. "So I might get back a bit later, some people from school invited me over to play some games." 

"Sounds fun," Shiro maintained his smile, although his eyes darted around the diner and behind Keith at the door. 

"You okay?" Keith knew his cousin well enough to read him when he didn't want to be read. 

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine. Just...waiting for someone." 

"Who?" 

"A friend. They're visiting and I think they might've gotten lost." Shiro's leg began to bounce up and down. "Go. I'm sure your friends are waiting for you. Be great." Once again Shiro smiled reassuringly but Keith knew there was more to it than that. 

"Thanks. I'll text you when I get back." 

~*~

Pidge's car was full of all sorts of things that Keith thought looked expensive: telescopes, measurement devices, and other important looking science-y things that Keith thought best not to touch. Somehow he managed to force his body an "S" shape in the backseat of the minivan next to some old computer equipment. The car roared to life the second Pidge put the key into the ignition and the air conditioner blasted. 

"Paladins, to your lions!!" Pidge hollered as she put her foot on the gas. 

Keith silently thought to himself that they must be some of the strangest people in Altea Bay. Street lights passed by in streams of white light as their shimmery reflection upon the bay danced back at them as they drove past. The car was the opposite of silent. Keith liked how the group could bounce off each other with lighting quick quips that could send them all spiraling into laughter. Lance had found himself some good company. From the backseat, Lance looked perfectly like himself. When he tossed his head back in laughter his eyes squinted and his dimples flashed. He would slap his hand on his leg and his shoulders would shake. It's almost beautiful. 

Kieth's eyes widened. Why would he think something like that? He shook his head vigorously. He surmised that he must be getting tired or something. 

~*~

Lance's house was a part of a little suburb about a mile away from the beach. It was a cozy neighborhood with smaller sized houses of all different designs. When they got out of the car, Keith noticed that they were close enough to hear the crash of the waves the craggy rocks below. In the darkness of the night sky, stars riddled the darkness. The perk of living in such a small town meant less light pollution so summer evenings were left untouched. 

"Hey! Veronica's back! Good, means we don't have to wait for her." Lance gestured to his sister's car. The slamming of car doors echoed behind him. 

The yellow stucco house had white windows and trim with a small front porch and a swinging bench. Along the side Keith noticed a patch of baby pink peonies growing. The flowers' big and intricate bulbs were perfect: the hundreds of petals seemed to be shaped each in their own unique way. From having them in the shop, Keith knew that they smelled beautiful and that the petals were soft. For a moment he considered going to inspect them but he didn't want to risk Lance berating him again. 

The porch light turned on as the group reached the stairs and a friendly looking older woman opened the front door. Keith assumed that she was Lance's mother. She wiped her hands on her yellow apron and combed her hands through her wavy brown hair the same color as Lance's. 

"Ah mijo, you're back!" 

Lance received a loving but chastising smile from his mother. "And not a moment sooner, we're just finishing up the dishes. Your sister was kind enough to help even after she got back from being with her friends" 

"Ah it's just the timing ma," He gave her a hug. 

"IS THAT LANCE?" A voice yelled from the back of the house. 

The group walked in. Lance's sister was standing at the sink washing dishes. Keith had met Veronica before at the shop but they had not talked much after then. With every moment Keith felt more and more like he was invading upon Lance's life, almost like he was violating some weird unsaid rule that the two had created since meeting. 

"Ronnie, hurry it up, we'll be setting up the den." 

"I'd like to see you back here maybe then I'd get done a little faster." 

Awkwardly holding his pie in his lap, Keith sat in a beanbag while the others set up the game. Before long controllers were out, snacks distributed and the beanbags arranged. 

"You wanna do something with that pie?" Lance passed him a controller. 

Keith hadn't noticed how quietly he had been sitting watching. 

"Oh. I guess I should." 

"Put it in the fridge for now." 

"Thanks." Keith hesitated. He got up thinking to himself what would happen if he just left it there. He didn't want it anyways. If he left it, would Lance notice? Would he give it back later? What if he invited him back just to get the pie? Could he come over again? 

"Any day now Flower Crown, we're almost ready." 

"Ye-yeah." 

Stupid pie. What does pie have to do with anything? Leaving pie and coming back...what's wrong with me?

In the kitchen Veronica was wiping off her hands when she saw Keith. Upon seeing him, her eyes widened. 

"You're Keith right? You work at Altea Bay Flowers?" 

"That's me." On the counter-top Keith's eyes found a vase of the pink peonies from outside the house.

"Huh," She simply said, and turned towards the den. "Hope none of you have taken my lion!!" 

Underneath her glasses, Keith felt like she was judging him, and he didn't like it one bit. 

"Keith! Get back in here, you're gonna miss the opening; you gotta get caught up with the plot!" 

The dark haired boy slid into his designated beanbag and took the controller in his hands. Suddenly his palms felt sweaty. They were definitely gonna find out. 

After the opening recap ended the screen illuminated with a graphic of the lions. Paladins--to your lions! 

Hunk shoved and handful of cheesy popcorn into his face. "Come on Lance just this one time can I be the blue one? It's faster than the yellow one." 

"Uh-uh pal, I'm the blue one...unless you wanna be the black one instead of Keith?" 

All eyes fell on to him.

"None of you wanna be the black lion?" Keith was confused. From what he knew about Voltron that was supposed to be the most powerful one. 

Pidge adjusted her glasses on her nose. "See uh, we haven't figured that one out yet."

"You haven't? I thought this was like, your game?" 

"Yeah, yeah, he's the decisive leader or something but doesn't do too much of the fighting like the arms, so we usually CPU him." Lance shrugged. 

"Someone's gotta do it." Veronica took a drink of her soda.

"Alright." Keith gulped. 

They moved their pointers over each of their respective lions. Keith: black, Veronica: red, Pidge green, Lance: blue and Hunk: yellow. 

Paladins--the universe is depending on you! Now...back to where we last left off: the Green Lion is stranded...

~*~

After a while Keith was starting to get the swing of things with the black lion. The group was right, he didn't do much fighting but Keith figured out that certain combinations on the controller could do some serious damage if he did it right and he could enhance the other lion's weapons in combat. He really wished that he hand the wings though. It was fun playing with the others; feeling the tension when they had to fight a Robeast or save some innocent aliens. Pidge was great with strategy and Veronica couldn't be messed with when she had her sword. During solo battles, Lance proved skilled in the game too, although he was never humble about it. To the group's surprise, Keith wasn't too bad either. 

"You're doing great Keith!" Lance beamed after they smashed a Galra ship to pieces. He sounded surprised but proud. "I knew it was a good idea bringing you along." 

Pidge chewed on a Twizzler. "What else have you played before?" 

Keith's chest felt tight. "Not too many things..." 

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Hunk whipped his head around to look at Keith, then excitedly chuckled. "This is awesome! With Keith on our side we are definitely defeating Zarkon this time around." 

"You game Keith?" Lance's soft brown eyes looked directly at him. 

Keith was relieved that they were playing in the dark because his cheeks had flushed. "A bit." 

"I will gladly hand over the blue lion if you can get us past level 30, I've heard that's the hardest one." 

Veronica scoffed. "If we can get there. It'll take us days. Those developers weren't kidding when they said this one would be harder than the first." 

"You've gotta come by again Keith, the people of the universe depend on you!" Lance threw his arms up into the air for dramatic effect, spilling the bag of chips in his lap. 

"Okay." Keith shyly looked down to his controller. He didn't even need to leave his pie to get invited back. 

~*~

It was around 2 in the morning when Lance had offered to drive Keith back to his home, it made sense considering that Pidge and Hunk lived in the opposite direction. The two of them took Veronica's old red Toyota. The backseat smelled strongly of sunscreen. Grains of sand could be found everywhere: in the seat cushions, on the carpet and in the cup holders. Beach towels, a guitar, a cooler, a speaker, and a boogie board were crammed in the back. 

The car started with a creak. 

"Where to?" Lance craned his head back to look out the window. 

"109 Juniberry Ave." The boy twiddled his hoodie string in his fingers. He hated the nervous habit but he couldn't control it. 

"Juniberry? Jeez Flower Crown is there anything else about you that doesn't have to do with flowers?" He laughed at himself. "I guess I'm not making it any better." 

"Juniberries aren't real, at least no one has seen them in Altea Bay in a long time. So, do fake flowers count as something else?" 

Lance gave a soft chuckle in return. Keith had't made him laugh before. 

"Now that I know that you game I'm gonna kick your butt sometime. You have some at your place?" 

"Uh-yeah." 

"How about Friday?" 

"Fr-Friday?" 

"What? You got something going on?" 

"No! No." 

Lance grinned, his eyes on the road. The same street lights that they passed before flew past them. 

The rest of the ride home they sat quietly. It was same silence from before that felt foreign to Keith. When they arrived to Keith's house, Keith noticed that Shiro's motorcycle wasn't in the front, but he didn't think too much of it at first. 

"See ya later...Keith." Lance gave the other boy a friendly smile. 

"You...too."  
~*~

As he walked into his house, Keith felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. He got into his pajamas the dove right in to his unmade bed. Friday felt alarmingly close. Falling asleep that night Keith focused on the soft green glow of the glow stars on his ceiling and suddenly realized that he actually did forget his pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Keith having these thoughts? And what does pie have to do about it? I'm so excited to write the next chapter!! Keith didn't want to let anyone know, but he's definitely played VLD before; he didn't want to one-up his new friends ;) 
> 
> Next time: Friday comes around and Lance learns a bit more about the quiet Keith.


	5. Violets

Keith was on his millionth imagining of how the night might go. Time seemed to be passing painfully slow. Keith guessed that his eyes had been glued to the front door for about an age when in reality Lance had only left for his delivery about 20 minutes prior. No words had really been exchanged between them save for the usual teasing remarks that Lance usually made when he greeted Keith. Keith had awkwardly handed him the bouquet of tiger lilies that he had arranged, fixed the milk crate to his bike and then Lance was on this way. Nothing had been said about their plans to hangout that night. Keith wondered if Lance had forgotten. It wouldn't surprise him. 

Outside of the shop, the downtown area appeared to be getting busier. On a Friday night the residents of Altea Bay could be found anywhere: on the beach, at the restaurants or the pubs, or in The Alley: a little cubby of shops surrounding a greening copper fountain. Keith wasn't one for "going" out but it being his last summer in Altea, he figured that it would be fun to give a try. He was sure that Lance and his friends had done that before. 

Further way he sea glistened once again with the setting sun: Keith's usual closing shift show. The sunrise looked a little different that evening, it was a more vibrant orange with accents of pink. The streaky clouds emulated the sea foam that was gathering on the beach. Kelli had left the door to the shop open that day, and the breeze that waded in carried the scent of salt water married with the sweet smell of the flowers surrounding the silent boy. The serenity of the evening almost let Keith forget everything that he had been overthinking. 

Lance's bicycle bell chimed in the distance causing Keith to jump in his stool. Hurriedly he took off his red apron then put hon his hoodie. The shop had a few more minutes till closing but he figured that it would be okay just to leave a little early, maybe it would give us a little more time... In his head Keith hoped that no one else was intending on visiting the shop 10 minutes before 7:30. 

Keith locked up the front door before Lance could even walk in. The delivery boy skidded to a stop in front of the store like he ways did: it was his own type of grand entrance. His chest rose and fell ferociously as a crazed expression lit up his face. Lance took his delivery jacket off and shoved it to conform to the box shape of the milk crate on his bike. Lance took a tanned arm and swept sweat from his forehead. For the first time Keith noticed that he had freckles adorning his shoulders and his arms under the coral colored tank top he had worn that day. They suited him. 

"Aren't you glad that I didn't wreak the flower box thingy again?" Lance slapped his hand on Keith's back, causing him to recoil a bit. 

"Knowing you it'll happen again." Keith frowned. 

"I accept this challenge." Lance proudly nodded. "No more wrecks or I'll owe you..."The boy's brown eyes floated upwards in thought. 

"I'm not expecting you to pull this off." 

Lance paused after a moment moment of thinking, a mischievous grin growing on his face. "You have to do The Poppy Dance"

"NO." Keith's face turned bright red. The Poppy Dance was this performance put on by the older folks in town at the Poppy Festival during the middle of the summer. They performed it for the whole town as a type of tradition. "If I have to do the Poppy Dance so do you!" Keith cringed at the thought. 

"Deal! I don't care about doing it but I'm sure that you do," he winked. 

Keith shyly looked away. There was no way that he could rival Lance's unbridled confidence, Keith felt majorly out of his league. 

"Well, what do you say to getting some food before I crush you in some of your nerd games?" 

Keith's head snapped back. "They're not nerd games." 

"You keep telling yourself that bud." Once again he slapped his hand of Keith's back. 

Keith found the gesture really strange. Is this what friends do to each other? He straightened himself and gave Lance a slap back which surprised him. 

"I think you mean when I hand your ass to you when we play my nerd games." Keith tried his best to emulate Lance's smirk and give it back to him. 

Lance's eyebrows rose. Keith could have sworn that he saw Lance's cheeks turn rosy. Overhead a group of seagulls cawed on their way towards the water. Behind Lance the setting sun's glow made him look almost ethereal: his chocolaty brown hair appeared lighter and golden at the tips. He really was the sunny boy of Altea Bay, or at least to Keith he was at this one moment more than others. 

"Come on Flower Crown, I think I know where we should go." Lance walked past the other boy and gestured for him to follow. 

Hands shoved in his pockets, Keith trailed behind. 

~*~

Lance had lead the both of them to the Alley to a street vendor selling tortas. Lance claimed that they were the best in town (and not to tell his mother that). The kind older man running the stand greeted Lance as if they were old friends and the two conversed in beautiful flowing Spanish. Even though Keith couldn't completely tell what they were saying he stood there and nodded politely as Lance introduced him. Somehow, Lance's tone of voice sounded a little different when he spoke in another language; like another part of his identity was shining through. It seemed so natural to him. 

Once again, Lance paid for Keith's food and Keith almost didn't notice it becuase he had been wrapped up in Lance's words--trying to see if he could translate a word or two. After he paid Keith didn't want to make a scene in front of the vendor. 

Lance handed him his sandwich and lead him to the copper fountain towards the middle of the Alley. Around it benches were arranged in a semicircle. The air wafting from the fountain smelled metallic and little bits of mist seemed to shower around them. Dusk had begun and they sky was now almost a blanket of navy blue. Above them, string lights flashed on and illuminated the evening with a white glow. Music from inside the bars and restaurants echoed outside of their doors creating a weird clambering of noise, but Keith didn't take notice to it. 

The two quietly ate their food, only leaving space for a couple remarks here and there about how good the food tasted. Keith wanted to talk more, but he couldn't figure out to say; Lance looked perfectly happy just sitting there as they were. After a while, Lance crumpled up his trash and turned to other boy, sighing deep before he spoke. 

"You ever get tired sitting in there all day?" Lance's eyes didn't leave their gaze upon Keith who couldn't look up. 

"Not really, I don't really get bored. Is that what you mean?" 

Lance shrugged. "Maybe it's just me but I couldn't just sit there for hours without my head wanting to explode. Dude you're there for like, hours." 

Keith folded the corner of his torta wrapper and unfolded it. He had never thought about working at the shop as something that was painful. "I water the plants, re-pot, arrange, do the bouquets..." 

"Come on, the shop is never really that busy." 

"I watch the people walking b--" 

"You watch people?" 

Keith's head whipped up, suddenly embarrassed. He felt even more embarrassed upon seeing the look Lance was giving him. He looked confused with a twinge of disgust. 

"Keith," Lance placed a hand on Keith's shoulder while his expression changed. "Listen, I know I'm one to look at the girls, but just...staring at people on the street all day long? That's creepy." 

For a moment the weight of Lance's hand on his shoulder felt heavy and warm. It was the only thing that Keith could think about before responding. He shook it off. 

"It's not weird, I just wonder about where they are going, what their lives are like...I think it helps me pass the time." 

"Yeeah, that's not helping your case." Lance smirked and shook his head. 

"Wait! It's not like that!" A growing anger grew in the back of Keith's throat. 

"Come on, let's go." Lance stood up and held out his hand to Keith sitting on the bench. 

The dark haired boy stared at the other's tanned and freckled hand. He was dumbfounded. What does that mean?? Inside of his rib cage Keith's heart started to pound. What the hell is he doing? Over him, the taller boy stood expectantly,head held high with his eyes closed and his hand unmoving. Keith's mind ran blank trying to figure out what the gesture meant. He thought that it could only mean one thing.

Hesitantly, he stretched out his fingers towards the hand across from him, his pale fingertips just barely touching Lance's palm. Immediately Lance took his hand back. 

"What are you doing?!" 

Keith's eyes were wide and frozen. 

"You idiot, I'm trying to take your garbage from you, not your hand! What the--" Lance snatched Keith's sandwich wrapper from his other hand and marched towards the trashcan. The boy had turned around so quickly that Keith couldn't apologize, or catch the tiniest smile that had flashed on Lance's face. 

~*~

On the bike ride to Keith's place the two rode silently. The lights on their bikes illuminated the pavement before them as they glided down hills and rode back others. Every time Lance would ride over a pothole the bell on his bike could make a little ding. Keith was lost in his thoughts and silently cursed himself for being so stupid to think that Lance--who he had only just started really talking to--wanted to hold is hand. It wasn't a date, they aren't together...not to mention Lance would never want to hold my hand, unless I had white hair and was that dumb angel girl he was talking about. Lance hates me. He thinks I'm boring, he thinks that I'm creepy, stupid freakin' Flower--

"So are you gonna tell me where you live or what?" 

"You don't remember?" The moment the question left Keith's mouth he regretted it. Why would Lance even bother?

"Nope," Lance paused, "It was dark that night I drove you back, I'm no good with getting places in the dark." 

Keith felt an odd sense of relief. He pedaled a bit faster to lead the way. 

Since then he had forgotten that Shiro might be there when he returned to the house. Shiro wouldn't mind, but he didn't necessarily want him butting in. Keith hadn't seen his cousin since the Wednesday night that this had all began. The older boy would do this sometimes which never worried Keith. Shiro would always come back. He always just figured that work had called him, although the two of them never discussed his disappearances; it was some kind of unspoken promise that the two of them had. Keith would miss him though when he would have those warm summer nights to himself. Sitting in the dimly lit kitchen by himself, he would still wonder what Shiro was doing, or why he wouldn't say. 

Today was different. Keith found himself wishing that Shiro wouldn't be there that one night. 

The two boys turned a right and they pedaled up the hill leading to Keith's house. He had biked it hundreds of times so it didn't take too much effort. Behind him, Keith snickered at the sound of his companion huffing and puffing up the hill. They then wheeled their bikes behind the small house upon the hill into the small backyard occupied by a hammock and a couple lawn chairs. On the side of the house the sleepy outline of dark trees and bushes hugged the frame. Keith's backyard also looked upon the vast expanse of the ocean, which now glowed with the light from the waning moon. It was brilliantly white on that evening; beautiful--a thought that Lance kept to himself. 

The house was dark and empty as well as dead silent. It felt foreign to Lance who was used to the constant hustle and bustle of family members in his home. To Keith, the quiet of the house was calming, and sharing it with some else who wasn't Shiro was exciting. 

Keith opened the back doors with the jingle of his keys. Lance carefully followed behind him as Keith confidently threw down the keys into the dark and onto the table in front of him. Keith flicked on the kitchen lights to reveal the messy kitchen counters and table. Both of which Keith had forgotten to clean. With two boys living in the house, cleaning wasn't something that they went out of their way to do. After seeing Lance's tidy home, Keith hurriedly starting moving items around: books, glasses with 1/4 an amount of liquid in them, sketchpads, and used paper plates. Lance took notice. 

"You got anything to drink? I'm parched after that hill. I don't know how you do that everyday." 

The other boy rushed to the fridge praying that he did have something for Lance to drink. There were so many things that he had forgotten to picture during his play-through's of what would happen at this very moment.Luckily he did have something, but he would rather not give it to Lance at all. 

"Waoh there! Strawberry Kiwi? You reading my mind or something? This is my favorite flavor!" 

Keith hadn't noticed that Lance was expectantly waiting behind him. The sunny boy snatched the juice pouch from the fridge and opened it excitedly, sipping on the yellow straw with a satisfied look on his face. In moments he had sucked all the juice out and held his hand out for another. This time, Keith knew what they extended hand meant for sure. 

He passed him one. "It's my favorite flavor too." 

"Glad we can agree on something here Flower Crown." 

"Yeah..." 

"Where's your set up? Whatcha got going on here in your nerd cave?" 

The smallest sense of connection that Keith had just felt towards the other boy dissipated. 

"Follow me." The dark haired boy lead Lance further into the dark house, not bothering to turn on the lights. He then said, "So I can destroy you at your own game." just quietly enough for the other boy not to hear. 

~*~

In all his years in living in Altea Bay, Keith had never had a friend come into his home, much less his room. Now there he was, standing at the doorway to his room. The place that he felt safest, and now he would be letting someone else inside. For a split second, Keith wanted to turn around, tell Lance that they could hang out another time, maybe that way Lance would forget about it later. Just like the pie. He wouldn't care too much. Maybe if he did care, he would have said something about the pie...Pie? 

Lance was inside Keith's room before he could let him. Keith gulped. 

"Where's the light switch? Are you a freakin' vampire or something?" Lance padded his hand against the walls. 

"No-uh, let me do it." 

As he had done a million times before, Keith strode up to the right wall and plugged in the lights. In an instant, a soft yellow glow warmed up the room as the string lights wrapped around the rim of the room switched on. Lance was silent and all Keith could do was wait for his response. He did remember to clean his room for this part. In amazement, Lance turned in circles to inspect his surroundings. 

The walls were adorned with all sorts of posters: pictures of spaceships, anatomical diagrams of flowers and other plants, architectural blueprints, photographs of the ocean and other far away beautiful looking places. What caught Lance's eyes were the Polaroids taped up above Keith's bed, and the soft neon glow of the glow stars scattered around the room. Lance wondered if they had been placed to mimic constellations. It was also hard to miss the copious amounts of indoor plants: succulents grouped together, spider-plants, ferns, a bonsi on his desk, a large monstera. On his windowsill, Lance noticed the only flowers in the room, small blueish ones. 

"Before you say something." Keith threw his backpack down and turned on the small TV on his floor. " "Yes, I know that I have flowers in my room, and yes I know that it's typical." 

Lance smirked. "I think you are reading my mind."

"They're African Violets. And...I've had them for a long time." 

Lance slurped in some more juice. "It's uh...nice in here. It...feels like you in here." 

"Feels like me?" 

Lance stammered, "Yeah, like ya-you know the uhhhh vibe. It's the same." 

"I don't know what you mean but okay." 

Keith quickly began setting up the GameCube before he could make a fool out of himself, while simultaneously preventing Lance from doing the same. 

"Lets play some Melee." Keith shoved a controller at the sunny boy who had sat himself right next to him. 

They were close. Close enough where it didn't make a lot of sense. Close enough where Keith felt his focus slipping away from him as he tried his best to demolish Lance. Just to spite him like he had been planning the whole time. To him, it was much more entertaining to watch the faces that Lance would make when he would successfully take one of Keith's lives or charge up a move just right. Lance would yell when he couldn't get out of the way of Keith's attacks or cheer when his CPU teammate would wail on Keith. 

Every once and a while, in his thrill Lance's arm would bump up against Keith's or it would lightly rest against his sleeved arm. Every time Keith would notice it and feel his chest tighten and his breath hold similar to when he would put his hand on Keith's shoulder. It felt..nice, like nothing else was happening in the world, but the two of them in that room, with the yellow light making everything else in the room seem softer. Keith didn't care if he won or if he lost the game to Lance. All that he could notice was the other boy smiling at the TV screen. Lance's sunny smile in that moment expressed the purest happiness Keith had ever seen. 

"Keith! Come on, I'm whipping your butt in your own home? You gonna let that happen?" 

Lance's head turned to look at the boy sitting next to him. He hadn't realized that Keith had already been gazing upon him. Startled, the two boys eyes met. Lance's dark blue eyes stared back at Keith unblinking, their faces only inches away. Strangely, Keith felt a pang in the inside of his stomach and the urge to make the space between them vanish. What if? 

"Lance" Keith whispered. 

Below the second floor, a door slammed and both of their heads whipped back to face the TV screen. Shiro must have gotten home. 

Lance took in a deep inhale. "You're not letting me win on purpose are you?"He resumed playing as if nothing had happened. 

Keith clenched his controller in his hands, his knuckles turning white. His heart was pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears. 

~*~

Keith had known that he wasn't attracted to girls. Actually, there had really been no one in his life that he saw that he felt strangely compelled towards: no one's hand that he wanted to hold or even give flowers to. But this was different. With Lance's face illuminated by the blue glow of the TV screen, his smile dripping with confidence and the sunny boy's arm lightly brushing against his; Keith wished time could stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also a bit of a longer one but we had a lot going on ;) Did they just have a ~bonding moment~? The next chapter is gonna be from Lance's POV! 
> 
> Next time: Lance thinks over everything that happened when he hung out with Keith then gets a little distracted by a new acquaintance.


	6. Lilac

For the first time in his life, Lance's mind ran blank. 

Keith's eye's were blueish-gray, but he could have sworn that they looked purple like the violets sitting in his window. They were nothing like Lance had ever seen before, it was as if he was looking right into the night sky or into the depths of the sea. He was captured in them. 

Keith wasn't looking away. What is he doing? 

"Lance." Keith whispered.

Lance watched as the shape of his name formed on Keith's lips. His voice was incredibly quiet and careful. He had said Lance's name like it was the most important thing in the world. 

Lance's throat felt desperately dry. Being like this; close like this, felt like something he had once felt before but he couldn't name it. All at once, he felt something indescribable take over him. 

Lance's fingertips ran nervously over the carpet that they rested upon. His hand rose. He looks so...soft. Some sort of magnetic pulse drew Lance's hand up, he could not explain it, but he was desperately curious about what it would feel like if he could just touch--

Distantly, a door slammed somewhere else in the house. Both of their heads whipped back to face the TV screen. Immediately Lance picked up his controller one again. It felt like his mind was switching back on again. Lance became eerily aware now alone they had just previously been. He took in a sharp inhale. 

"You're not letting me win on purpose are you?"

Keith was silent for a moment before he took up his controller as well. He gave a shaky breath. 

"No. Who do you think I am?" 

Lance couldn't see the boy next to him, but he was certain that Keith had spoken with a smirk upon his face. The two boy's arms brushed against each other, and Lance didn't feel any urge to move away. 

~*~

It was past midnight when Keith had walked Lance to his bike in the backyard. The two had lost time after a while and could have kept playing for hours if Lance had not remembered that Veronica had asked him to go to go surfing with her the next day. They had even forgotten about the door opening on the first floor. 

The house was still dark save for the solitary light shining over the kitchen table. Sitting there with a book and a glass of water was a broad shouldered man, with strong arms and a pensive composure. Among his dark black hair like Keith's was a patch of white right in the front. Keith had never talked about who he lived with. 

"Shiro--" 

"You didn't say that you were bringing anyone over." 

Shiro's voice was authoritative, not like a father, but more like an older brother. This is who Lance assumed him to be. 

"No," Keith paused. "I thought you wouldn't care." He shifted and crossed his arms nervously. 

"I don't." Shiro looked up, his eyes much softer this his physical appearance. "I'm Shiro. Keith is my little cousin. And you are?" 

He reached out his hand for Lance to shake it. It was then when Lance noticed that it was made of some type of prosthetic. His had was ice cold and Lance knew it was best not to say anything about it. At the same time, he did want to say something about Keith being a little cousin. Now that was hilarious. 

"Lance. Ah- Lance McClain." 

"Nice to meet you Lance. It's nice to see that Keith bring someone--"

"Lance has to go!" Keith practically shoved Lance out of their back door. "I'll be back in a second!" 

Once they were outside, Lance immediately noticed how much colder it had become. His jacket was still shoved inside of the milk crate and the chill of the night had gotten to it too. He shivered a bit before mounting his bike then looked up. The stars were shining at full force in the clear sky making Lance smile to himself. He had a beautiful ride home ahead of him. When he brought his head down, Keith's hands presented him with his black hoodie. 

"Here. Its warmer than your jacket. I haven't taken it off since we got here." 

Lance's words jumbled in his mouth. "What? No,--it---it's fine I have my own, I'll be biking back anyways...I'll get warmer." 

"Suit yourself." Keith responded plainly.

"Welp, I'll see you on Sunday." 

A breeze blew through which passed through Lance's jacket as if it was paper thin. The canvas material was never too good at doing it's job. He winced slightly and Keith chuckled, offering the hoodie once more. 

"Fine. You win. I'll give it to you on Sunday." 

"If you somehow destroy it, let's call it two Poppy Dances." 

"You think too little of me Flower Crown." 

Lance exited with the sound of his bicycle bell, feeling warmer, but it wasn't Keith's hoodie alone that was giving him the sensation. 

~*~ 

Lance opened the door to his house as stealthily as he could. The last thing that he wanted to to wake up his mother and get another scolding about being some kind of wild-child. To his surprise, a single light illuminated the first floor: the light from their family TV. Veronica stood slumped over in one of their cushioned chairs flipping through the channels with the light hum of a fan blowing on her, mixing with the intermittent noise from the TV on low volume. 

Lance took off his shoes at the door. 

"What are you doing back so late?" Veronica said, monotone. "You realize we are trying to hit the beach in about five hours." 

"What are you doing up so late?" 

"You should be saying thank you." Lance's sister glared up at him. "Mom was starting to freak out about you staying out so late so I told her I would wait up for you so she would drop it." 

Lance found himself toying with the hoodie string, a motion he had seen Keith do many times before. 

"Thanks." He said softly. 

"Where were you? Pidge's again? You guys better not have been playing VLD without me." 

For a moment, Lance pondered saying yes. For some reason he didn't want to share where he had been, like it was some kind of secret. But why would he want to that? We were just playing some stupid games. 

"Lance." His voice rang in the back of Lance's mind. 

He shook it away. 

"I was hanging with that guy Keith. The one from the flower shop." 

"The one from the other day?" 

"Yeah." 

"Huh." Veronica went back to flipping the channels. "That's his hoodie you're wearing right?" She had said, deadpan. 

"What?!" 

Lance had totally forgotten. Standing in front of his sister wearing it he felt himself become embarrassed, even though he assumed that he had no reason to be. He hurriedly unzipped it and took it off. 

"Yeah, I was just...ahem, borrowing it." 

"Alright." Veronica shrugged and smugly smiled. 

"How did you know that?" 

"There's a reason I'm a tactical officer at the Garrison." She paused. "I observe. Come on, let's get some rest. We don't wanna miss the swell." Veronica winked at her brother then turned off the TV. 

Laying in bed, staring at the glow stars on his ceiling Lance couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had almost had done that very night. Even more, he had no clue what had possessed him to want to do such a thing. Touch Keith? Like, touch his frickin' face? It all made zero sense. Lance rubbed his eyes with his palms and turned over to look at his digital clock. It read 1:45. His eyes wandered to Keith's hoodie as it rested on his desk chair. He then carefully slipped out of bed to run his fingers over the soft cloth. Hesitantly he brought it up to his nose. It was floral and clean smelling twisted with something else he couldn't identify; probably just Keith. 

Lance paused for a moment before a sound of disgust left his mouth. What the hell am I doing? 

Lance got back in bed and held his eyes closed. It was too late to think about any of this, especially when he didn't know why was even bothering to think about it in the first place. 

~*~ 

The salty smell of the ocean ran up Lance's nose and shook him out of his sleepy haze. He sat next to his sister as they waxed their boards. In front of them the morning sky was just beginning to turn different hues of the sunrise: pinks and reds and oranges. Foamy white waves in front of them crashed in to kiss the shore. The morning air bit coldly on Lance's exposed legs. That morning he had made the quick decision to take Keith's hoodie with him to the beach because it might be cold there. He didn't stop to consider how angry Keith would be later once he returned it embedded with millions of tiny grains of sand. 

His sister threw him a messily made PB&J in a plastic bag. "Eat up." 

Lance did as he was told as Veronica set up their towels. He gulped hard looking out into the sea. These were some of his most favorite moments in Altea Bay. Lance felt a sting in the inside of his chest. Once he left for the Garrison when the summer ended, he wouldn't be seeing the sea for a long time. 

"Let's go to Seidou's later." Veronica called to Lance over the sound of the waves. Her short chocolate brown hair whipped in the wind. 

Lance nodded. 

"Only a couple more months of this."Veronica motioned to the view in front of them then sat next to her brother. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss it." 

Veronica shoved her shoulder into Lance's playfully. "You'll be back." She grinned. 

Lance's sister also had attended and worked for the Garrison, but she had requested leave for the summer before Lance had to leave. It was an honor that he had gotten in, but he mostly had Veronica to thank for that. She was an exemplary student which gave the McClain's a good reputation. The last thing that Lance wanted to do was let her down. He had never been the best at things like astronomy or physics, but he knew that this was the best thing to do to bring pride to his family. 

I wonder where Keith is going after summer ends. 

Lance buried his toes in the sand while hugging his arms to himself. The softness of the black hoodie was comforting. 

"Let's get out there." Veronica gave her brother her hand and helped him up. "Try not to fall too much out there," She winked. 

Lance rolled his eyes. "You kidding me? I'm a surfing god out there. You've been at the Garrison too long."

She chuckled then grabbed her board. In an instant she started sprinting for the water. "Last one in has to pay for Seidou's!!!" 

~*~ 

At first the water was freezing cold, then it was perfect. Lance dove in to get used to the water then rose to shake his hair out of his face. 

"WHOO!" He bellowed. 

"Get on your board surf god, they're coming in!" 

Lance threw his weight onto the center of his board and paddled on his stomach. He was exhilarated. From the corner of his eye he saw Veronica planning her first wave. 

"Oh no you don't!" 

With the waves lapping in Lance narrowed his eyes to focus. First wave of the summer and he wasn't about to let Veronica steal it. 

"I think I know what kind of pie I want later!" Lance's sister yelled over the sound of the waves unfurling. 

Lance didn't respond. He couldn't distract himself. Body and board facing the shore he waited with his head craned behind him. The sunny boy closed his eyes and waded his hands in the water beside him. When he was in the ocean like this it was like he had a sixth sense. He always knew the exact right moment to start paddling like crazy. Then, he felt it. Belly flat on the board he threw his arms into the water with cupped hands and became a frenzy of motion. He sensed the water getting higher behind him. In a swift motion the wave had swept him up. Calmly he grabbed the sides of the board with his hands as he had done hundreds of times before, getting ready to pop up. First he swung his legs up from under him then...

Caught up under the wave Lance hadn't even noticed that he had fallen off his board. He was swept up and thrown around under the tumultuous waves. They swirled above him blurry as he forced his eyes to open but it stung so he closed them tightly. Behind the blackness of his lids he began to panic. Every instinct that he had before about surfing he had forgotten in an instant. The weight of the waves bore down on him every time he tried to reach the surface of the water. Lance's heart was pounding and he felt the smallest wisp of air remaining in his lungs leave. A fearful instinct within him told him to shout for help, but instead the salty taste of seawater poured into his mouth. 

Do they even know that I'm missing?

Lance choked on the water entering his mouth and his lungs. Thoughts flooded his head in a sequence that he thought must have been his last moments. Where is Veronica, I want to go the Garrison, I have to give Keith his hoodie back, I have to tell Ma that--

A hand gripped Lance's arm with sheer force and yanked at him. He had been too delirious to understand what was happening save for the brightness of the sun white in his eyes as he opened them to see the sky above him. The sunrise was at full force; it had never looked so amazing in all of Lance's life. This isn't too bad. He thought, finally feeling himself give up. 

"Hold on!" A voice urged near him before his vision went dark. 

~*~

"Come on, come on!" 

"Here, let me take a turn." 

"Lance, Lance, you idiot." 

"Did you see what happened to him?" 

"Did you see his board? It's totally wrecked." 

"Lance." 

I know that voice. 

Lance came to surrounded by a group of strangers. One of them wore red. A lifeguard? He loomed over Lance with a nervous expression and a whistle dangling from his neck. Another person too loomed over him, a girl, her long, wet white hair was lathered to the sides of her face. She was compressing on his chest. It hurt. Lance felt like he was about to throw up. 

"His eyes are open!" 

Lance quickly sat up and coughed up water roughly. It burned in his throat and his nose. 

"Lance? Lance!!" 

Veronica pushed through the crowd to hold her younger brother in her arms. She choked on her words as if she had been crying. 

"Ver-Veron--" 

His sister laughed in glee while tears slid down her cheeks. 

Lance looked around him at all the worried faces he didn't know, but the he saw her. It was her. The angel. His angel. Even though he still felt godawful he couldn't help but feel embarrassed that she had seen him like this. 

"Guess I owe you some Seidou's Veronica." He weakly quipped. 

"Shut up you ass." Veronica laughed, holding him tighter. "I didn't catch that wave either." 

Awkwardly, the angel girl sat next to him smiling slightly. 

"Thank God that Allura found you in time." 

Lance moved away to look at the heavenly girl beside him. "Allura..." 

"Yes, thank goodness." She echoed with that accent that Lance had not forgotten. 

"Thank--thank you." 

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Of course." 

Lance's heart skipped a beat. Even soaked with sea water and her hair haphazardly strewn around her she was gorgeous. 

"Allura, I can't thank you enough." Veronica slowly helped Lance up. 

She curtly nodded. 

"Please, let me thank you." Lance looked upon her earnestly. 

"No need to do that." 

"You just saved my life. I owe you." 

Remembering his charm, Lance flashed his flirtiest smile. Allura looked around anxiously, while the onlookers expectantly waited for her answer. 

"Alright." She nervously responded. 

"Let me take you to Seidou's; it's on me." 

"Lance, I should take you home, you need to rest after all that." Veronica's worried gaze commanded him to listen to her. 

"Tonight then. 6 o'clock?" 

She nodded. 

"I'll see you then." 

Lance's sister led him away from the scene as Lance felt more and more giddy. His broken surfboard rested not too far away from them on the shore and he didn't even care. 

~*~

Lance had been waiting outside of Seidou's for about 10 minutes when he began to wonder if Allura really was going to show up. He paced back and forth a little, his flip flops making a soft pat pat sound behind him. He couldn't believe that he was having this chance. Across the street he gazed into the windows of the flower shop. No doubt Keith was in there sulking or something. Does he even work on Saturdays? It was then when Lance had a stroke of genius. Confidently he strode across the street and into the doors. Of course he had to give his angel some flowers to say that he was thankful. 

He burst in, shoulders and head held high. "Kelli, I need you to set me up." 

Shocked, he was met with Keith's confused expression. 

"Oh! Keith..." 

"Lance." He curtly replied. 

"I uh, didn't know that you were working today." 

"I close up on Saturdays." 

"Huh." Lance's eyes wandered around the shop. He had to be quick or Allura might think he stood her up. 

Maybe she doesn't like flowers. This was a stupid idea away way. 

"What are you doing here?" Keith shifted in his seat. 

"I'm uh--ya know, just popping in to say hi." 

Keith's eyebrows furrowed. 

I don't have anything to be embarrassed of. Do I? 

"Actually, I'm here for some...flowers." 

"Okay. What kind?" Suddenly Keith was all business. 

"Uhhh I don't know aren't you better with that sort of thing?" 

"If you tell me what you need them for." 

Lance cringed. Keith was definitely going to judge him or something.

"For a...girl." 

"A girl?" Keith's tone of voice sounded confusedly twisted. 

"Yeah, the girl." 

Suddenly Keith understood and his expression turned back to business, but somehow Lance thought that he looked disappointed. Yeah, he's totally judging me. 

"Okay." 

Keith set to work creating a bouquet of purple four-petaled flowers. The way that he did the action was very meticulous and focused. In the end, it turned out looking perfect. 

"She should like these." Keith said handing them over. "If she knows that they mean." 

"Thanks bud." Lance slapped down a 20. "This should be good right?" 

"...Yeah." 

"Keep the change. Thanks for the help." 

Lance marched back out of the store to see Allura on the other side of the street, looking stunning just as he had imagined. Her wavy pearl-white hair was artfully pinned half up and down. She wore a light blue sundress that billowed in the wind. She politely smiled at Lance. 

"For you!" He presented her with the bouquet. 

"Oh, thank you." She took it and smelled them. "Their color is beautiful." 

On the inside Lance gave himself a pat on the back. 

"I chose them just for you." He grinned then opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance definitely didn't expect to get a date with Allura this soon, who knew he had to almost die for it haha. I wonder what Keith was thinking when he was making that bouquet? 
> 
> Another thing, while each of the chapters are named after a flower (usually) that is featured, their meanings also have a ~significance~ with the overall feeling of each chapter. ;) 
> 
> Next time: Lance gets to know more about this angel girl Allura and takes Keith on an adventure to find an Altea Bay secret.


	7. Juniberries

Lance's palms were sweaty. It was a disgusting feeling. Lance knew that they definitely weren't going to be holding hands but jeez I have to get over this. About every 30 seconds he took a sip from the water sitting in front of him. He had been to Seidou's enough times to know exactly what he wanted to order, but he pretended to read his menu just so he wasn't awkwardly waiting for Allura to choose. She studied her menu seriously with her eyebrows scrunched up together. It was majority cute. Lance would keep up to look at her every once and awhile. 

"This place is so interesting." She mused, running her finger over the page. "I've never heard of dishes like these before." 

"Diner food?" 

"Yes." Allura nodded, genuinely curious. "What is a club sandwich? Do they beat you with it?" Her accident was adorable. Suddenly she looked up terrified at Lance. 

He laughed, not in a mocking way, then straightened himself. It was time. He had to give it all he had. Lance was known as the biggest flirt in the school, but she didn't know that. It was time to whip out his charm.

Lance gave her a sly grin. "I would hope not! At least, I've never seen that happen in a diner before." 

"Oh." Allura blushed and sank in to her seat. 

"I don't know why they call it that but I do know that they taste really good." 

"What does it taste like?" She perked up again. 

"Well, it's got chicken and turkey or ham, bacon, lettuce--" 

"All meat?" The beautiful girl's expression became disgusted. 

"Uh, mostly." 

"That's barbaric." 

"Huh?" Now it was Lance's turn to be confused. "Are you a uh, vegetarian? Cau-cause they have a bunch of other stuff here--" 

"Yes. I have never eaten meat in my life and I don't intend to start." 

Lance's back slugged. The last thing that he wanted to happen that night would be one more girl lecturing about all he was doing it all wrong; somehow that's how most of his dates ended up. He sat up higher. Lance was determined to make this different, she had to give him a chance. 

"Well...it doesn't matter to me that you are a vegetarian, Ya know, I've always thought it was a pretty good idea." 

Allura nodded as a wide smile ran across her face. "Indeed it is. Ever since I was young my father has taught me that all life lives in a delicate balance, and that we are all connected with the same energy, if we harm those who live then we are harming the nature of the universe and consequently, ourselves." 

She had totally lost him. Lance's mind had drifted so far that it might have been left in the sea. 

"Deep stuff." He simply said. 

"Yes. It is something that all Al--I mean, all my family members believe in." 

Forget the cheeseburger I was about to order. 

"Are you ready dears?" Mrs. Seidou had approached their table. 

"Yes!" Allura beamed. "I will have the Cae-sar salad please. No poultry." The way that she said "Caesar" came out sounding like"Sez-Are" 

Lance smiled to himself, covering his menu over his mouth. Who was this girl? Lance was really beginning to think that she was an angel that had fallen down to Earth, she seemed so out of place. She had seemed so different, cold even that day when he had first met her. He guessed that saving someone's like was one heck of a way to get to know someone. Did she feel bad for him, does she pity me? 

"And for you Lance?" Hunk's mother sweetly smiled down upon him. "Your usual?" 

"Ah no!" 

Mrs. Seidou appeared alarmed at his response. She couldn't blow his cover. 

"I take the same thing." 

"Really? My boy, but you always get the--" 

"--Its fine! I'm trying something new today." 

She shook her head while writing the orders. "Two Caesears coming up." 

Allura inspected the rest of the diner with awe, in turn, Lance watched her with awe. Her innocent curiosity made Lance feel even more giddy. The hustle and bustle of the people coming in and out of the restaurant had a jovial feeling to it. When the front door was opened, bells over the door jingled as if to say "welcome". To his right, out the window Lance could see the sea. Now darkening in color with the coming sunset it somehow looked a bit more foreboding than before. Lance had never felt scared when he thought about the ocean, much less his ocean in Altea. He squoze his eyes shut for a moment, shaking the thoughts away. He had a gorgeous girl in front of him and pie in his future: what was the use in worrying? 

"Thank you, again. You saved me today. I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for you." Lance lathered out his words like honey.

Allura snapped her head back as if she was brought back from some sort of daze. "I've already said you don't need to thank me much more. It was very lucky that I decided to go surfing today too. Thanking me with this meal is enough...and so are the flowers." She admired them and ran her fingertips over the petals. 

Even that small action was enough to send Lance spiraling. It was impossible that everything that she did could make her seem so elegant, but Lance was witnessing it first hand. He desperately wanted to tell her how dazzling she was, and how she made his heart skip several beats just by simply existing. Her face..looked soft. 

To hell with it. I'm Lance. I never got anywhere by keeping my mouth shut. 

"Allura, I--" 

"--Two Caesar salads no chicken!" Mrs Seidou's voice trilled, startling Lance. 

"Thank you very much!" Allura's eyes widened upon seeing her dinner. "This looks amazing! She shoved a fork full of lettuce into her mouth. "And crunchy! Not slimy at all!" She spoke with her mouth full of food. "I mean..." Suddenly she regained her composure then stoically took another bite. "I find this very pleasing." 

Mrs. Seidou gave Lance a concerned look. "...I'll be back a bit later to check on you." 

Lance toyed with the lettuce on his plate. With every moment this girl turned out to be more and more interesting. 

"I think I would have remembered seeing you at school." Lance flashed her a smug grin."Did you just move here?" 

She did not take his grin kindly. "Yes." She said, not meeting his eyes. "I have not attended school here." She spoke matter-of-factly. 

"My family and I have moved here momentarily, my father has some business to do regarding this town. It is our responsibility." 

"Responsibility?" 

The white-haired girl hesitated. "Yes. Long ago members of my family colonized this land and made a settlement here so that we had a place to stay." 

"What? Wait, you're saying that you like, own Altea Bay?" 

She chuckled softly. "N-no" 

Lance's mind raced. The first thing that his mind set to was creating an elaborate story about Allura being the daughter of a very wealthy family with a cold and powerful father and a life full of travel and private school and rich friends. To him, it all made sense. 

"So what do you mean?" 

Allura tucked her hair behind her ear tentatively. "It is a bit hard to explain." 

"We have time!" Lance threw his arms up in excitement, his olive colored jacket crinkling. He had completely forgotten about the salad in front of him. 

She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to Lance over the table. The boy felt his cheeks blush slightly. 

"My family comes from...far away. Altea Bay was build to be a home away from home for my family, a place where we could live peacefully separate from...others...when we came to visit. My father and mother and I have returned to check up on things. My family hasn't been here for a very long time. She trailed off, her expression becoming saddened. Her eyes wandered down. Seeing her like this made Lance feel guilty. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up if it was hard to talk about." He felt an instinct to reach out and grab her hand but instead he held them tightly crossed under the table. 

"It's alright." 

Their eyes met, but neither of them said a word. Allura's crystal blue eyes were a clear as a reflecting pool and Lance was happily drowning in them. At the same time they held a strange mystery that he couldn't understand. He felt oddly compelled to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be alright. 

Allura broke away first and twiddled with her flowers again. "Have you heard about the Juniberries?" 

To his right and outside of the window, Lance's mind traveled to Keith who was undoubtedly still sitting at the flower shop register. Juniberry. Thats Keith's street. 

"Yeah, what about them?" 

"When my family first came here they brought them with us: from our home. Altea Bay used to full of them; fields of Juniberries as far as the eye could see: in the flower shops, in Arus Woods...I would love to see some again, I'm sure not all of them are gone." 

"But they've been gone for years," Lance leaned in forward, suddenly intrigued. "I thought that they might have even been a myth. Everyone here knows the story: they are so beautiful and sweet smelling that they are almost alien, that someone from up there gave them to us as a gift of like peace or something I don't know." 

Allura looked down with a calm smile upon her face. "That is a lovely way to put it." 

Lance knew what he had to do."I-I'll find you some Allura." 

"That is very kind of you Lance, but if they still are around they would be very hard to find." 

"But if you had to look for them, where would you look? You said your family planted them." 

"The fields have been wiped away..." 

"I'm willing to believe that they are out there." 

"Perhaps in Arus Woods, hiding somewhere secret where they know they cannot be found." 

At this point, Lance knew that Allura was probably off her rocker based off of everything that she had said that night, but he didn't care; even if there weren't any flowers to find. 

"Then I'll go." Lance sat up confidently. "A girl as pretty as you deserves all the flowers in the world and then some, even the rare ones." 

The angelic girl sitting in front of him tiled her head slightly then smiled, a real genuine smile all for Lance. She had the tiniest dimples that hugged her warm brown skin. Lance's heart ached to be closer to her: enough to run his hands through her silvery hair and enough to give her the happiness that he knew she deserved. 

"You wanna get some pie? I know exactly what flavor we should get." 

~*~

Lance was almost late. At exactly 12:29pm the sunny boy came barreling into the flower shop. Keith was hanging up his apron in the back of the shop. The sound of the back door jingled open from a couple bells propped on the door handle. 

"Where ya headed to?" Kelli tied up her hair in a single swoop. 

"You ask him." Keith smoothed out his black t-shirt. 

"It's a surprise!" 

A warm summer breeze sauntered into the flower shop as the afternoon sun blazed. The aroma of all of the flowers inside of the shop conjoined into a dizzily sweet symphony. The leaves and stalks of the flowers bowed and danced slightly in the motion of the breeze, their shadows mimicking their motions. Keith's shadow approached Lance before he did. The longer tips of his mullet and bangs swayed a bit too. 

"I'm ready." 

"Alright!" Lance happily clapped the other boy on the back, causing him to flinch. 

"You watered the Gardenias and the succulents?" 

Keith looked back at her and nodded. His lips formed a tense and nervous line as he expectantly waited for Lance to lead the way. 

"Oh! I almost forgot." Lance handed the dark-haired boy his hoodie as it was crumpled up in the milk crate. He presented it proudly. "See? I didn't destroy it. You think so little of me." 

Keith inspected it. "Is that...sand? And---" He brought it to his nose."What did you do, fight a battle in it? It reeks." His eyes shot an angry gaze. 

"I only took it with me to the beach...and I wore it on the ride home. Ya know maybe it got a bit sweaty but that's fixable." 

Keith scrunched up his nose and shoved it into his backpack. "Let's just get out of here." 

~*~

The two boys whizzed through the town on their bikes. Lance lead the way with his jacket-cape flapping behind him as it always did. He was pedaling fast without looking behind himself to see if Keith was keeping up. The excitement of the search for the flower had his mind racing. It was fun to entertain the thought that the elusive flower could still be around. They passed the heavy laden poppy fields and he gripped his handlebars tight, daydreaming about the sparkling smile he would receive when he delivered the flowers to Allura. 

"LANCE!" Keith yelled behind him 

Lance lifted his head up to see a car coming at him at full speed. His heart practically jumped out of his chest as he swerved away just in time. He breathed out a thankful laugh. 

"Eyes on the road!" Keith growled then pedaled faster so he closely tailed behind him. 

"I got it, don't worry." He smirked. 

"One day Lance, you're not gonna be so lucky." 

Again, he chuckled at the statement. "Haven't you heard? I'm bulletproof. I didn't even tell you about what happened yesterday." 

"What?" 

"I'm invincible!" He let out a maniacal sounding laugh and threw his feet off of his pedals. "Until my beautiful angel saved me! I live to shower her with my gratitude!" Lance spoke in a posh accent. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" 

"Come on Keith we're almost there!" 

To their left the field of poppies turned into dense trees and low laying shrubs. The closeness of the trees seemed to snuff out the sunlight that shown everywhere else. However it's mystery was no parallel to it's lushness. In the height of the summer the leaves of the trees waved high up in their branches deeply green. Cottonwoods shimmered like the ripples of waves as they succumbed to the motion of the wind. On the edges of the forest various tiny wildflowers peeked out to get a glance of the town downhill. Lance just knew that his secret was just waiting in there to be found. Full speed ahead he lead Keith to the tiny parking lot at the mouth of the woods where the two chained up their bikes. 

"The adventure begins!"

His companion gave him a weary look. "Are we going on a hike or something?" 

"Yeah, something." Lance winked then headed for the nearest trail. 

~*~ 

Lance swatted at a mosquito on his neck. In the deep of Arus Woods, the humidity seemed to rise with the closeness of the trees. The Arusian River was nearby. They had remained on the wood-chipped path for some time, but Lance had a feeling that if these flowers were real, they weren't going to be right on the side of the path. He looked behind himself to Keith who was trudging, eyes glued to the ground. His forehead was covered in sweat. Lance couldn't help but feel a little bad he didn't tell Keith to at least dress appropriately. He must have been burning in his black skinny jeans. He slowed his pace to walk next to the dark haired boy. 

"You ever been in here before?" Lance attempted to lift Keith's mood. 

"Not in a long time. Probably since I was a kid." 

"Me too, I used to come out here all the time when me and my siblings were in elementary school. Although it used to be pretty hard for my mom to juggle us all at once." He smiled at the memory. 

Keith remained silent. 

"...You would come out here with Shiro?" 

"He would be the one to take me here back when my dad was...too busy." 

It was strange hearing Keith talk about his parents, Lance wondered what they had been like and why now he was only living with his cousin. He felt it best not to press the issue, it was something that Keith had to decide to tell him. To his surprise, Keith continued. 

"After my mom died, my dad just got wrapped up in a lot of things trying to figure out how to live his life without her in it. Shiro really stepped in around then." He breathed out a laugh. "Sometimes I feel like Shiro was more of a dad to me than my real one ever was." 

The personal conversation held high above their heads. Still Lance wondered what had happened to Keith's father. These types of conversations always made him uneasy, it seemed like he never knew the right thing to say, but he could only try. 

"I'm sorry, that must have been difficult." 

"That was all a long time ago." Keith rose his head to give the other boy a hopeful smile. "Soon I'll be getting out of this place and then I can leave that all behind. 

Lance's curiosity spoke before he could control it. "Where are you going? At the end of the summer I mean." 

"CCN" 

"What? The Coalition of Cultures and Nations? What would you do there?" 

"I'm not sure, something that let's me learn about what's up there." He pointed up. "And you?" 

"Oh! The Garrison. I want to be a pilot...Hunk and Pidge are going there too. We're gonna try to form a team." 

"How long have the three of you been friends?" 

"Since middle school, but it's felt way longer." 

Keith put his hands in his pockets. "Well, if our schools ever have a conference we should meet up again." He looked to Lance with his deep-sea blue eyes softly. 

Lance liked the sound of that. 

They had walking and talking for so long that Lance had almost forgotten why they were out there. 

"Come on, let's head off the path." 

~*~

The sound of the Arusian River rippled distantly and Lance knew that they had to be getting close. He had no clue where the flowers would be but his best guess was to move towards water. Plants like water, right? 

The two boys stomped through the weedy undergrowth of the forest. Cracks of sunlight peeked through the holes in the canopy, creating a kaleidoscope effect on the forest floor. Lance's eyes were glued to the ground his head scanning around him like a hunting dog. Sweat rolled down his back under his jacket which he speedily took off and tied around his waist. Twigs snapped under their shoes every moment that the river drew nearer. 

"What exactly are we looking for?" Keith said over the pleasant sounds of the forest. 

"Oh we'll know when we see it." 

"Did you bring any water or anything? I think I've sweat out all the water in my body." 

"Backpack." Lance commanded and kept searching. He didn't take it off. 

Keith sighed and unzipped the other boy's bag. 

"Scissors? What are these for? We doing arts and crafts out here?" 

Lance heard Keith stop in his tracks. 

"I'm not making flower crowns." 

"That's not what we're doing so keep up." 

The two boys pushed further into the forest, far enough where all other sounds of life--even the ocean had been silenced. The only sounds that rang around them were the chirps of songbirds and the pleasant ripple of the river in front of them. 

"We gotta cross." Lance commanded. He began to take off his sneakers and socks. 

"What? No way." 

"Come on Keith, what about the adventure? I promise this is all gonna be worth it. Just...pull up your jeans and lets go." 

Keith groaned and did as he was told. He knew that if he fell out there he was gonna kill Lance. 

The deepest part of the river only went a little above the tall boy's knees, but it the rocky and choppy water didn't look that inviting at all. 

Lance shoved his jacket in his backpack and confidently strode into the water, his pace soon slowing towards the middle. 

"It's a bit cold but not that bad! Be careful of the rocks! It's slippery!" His voice squeaked above the ripples. 

Eyes forward, Lance was determined to get to the other side. He imagined those flowers and Allura's happiness were soon within his reach. Just as he reached the opposite bank, he turned to observe Keith shakily wading through the water. He let out a mocking laugh. 

"Any day now Flower Crown!" 

Keith scowled which lead Lance to laugh even harder. His right foot betrayed him and slid instantly on the rock he stood on forcing his full weight into the water. The cool water and the twist of his leg left him shocked. 

"Lance!" Keith fearfully called out. 

Lance's head popped out of the shallow water with bellows of laughter. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He said between laughs, trying to hide his shock. He was soaked from head to toe. 

Keith gave him his arm to help him up. "Let's just find the thing and get out of here." 

"What? You're not having fun?" He gave Keith a dramatic pout. 

"Not when I have to be looking out for your ass every second." 

"Thank you Keith" He sarcastically remarked. 

~*~ 

"We've been out here for hours!" 

"I'm telling you, we're getting close!" 

Lance's sopping wet tie-dye shirt was glued to his body and his cargo pants dripped with water. It felt nice compared to the heat bearing down upon them. 

"We're not lost are we?" 

"No." Lance said, although he didn't believe his own words. 

Keith plopped down on a fallen tree. "I'm taking a break. We've been walking for hours."

Lance stretched and looked around them. Every part of the forest seemed to be melding together now into one green mess. He was beginning to get scared that they really were lost, and it was all his fault. He took of his shirt in frustration and rung it out. He watched as Keith's eyes flickered away once he became shirtless. 

"You don't have to be polite; we're just guys." 

Keith meekly looked back upon his companion. Lance was comfortable with his thin and lightly defined body, but as soon as he knew Keith was looking at him alone like this in the deep of the woods he felt nervous. What if someone walked by? What would they think was happening? He blushed at the thought and quickly put his shirt back on then sat. 

"You should just tell me what it is Lance and I can help. Maybe we can find it faster?" 

Lance shook his head then hesitated. He had brought Keith because he knew that he would appreciate the Juniberries too: flowers seemed to be his thing. He wanted to see Keith surprised too. But the day wasn't getting any longer. 

"...Fine. But just, don't call me crazy--" 

Out of the corner of his eye the smallest smear of color caught his attention. It didn't blend into the woods.He whipped his head around and saw it peaking from behind a tree trunk. He sprung up and ran full speed ahead. 

"Lance? Lance!" 

In disbelief he cradled the three-petaled flower in his hand. He ran his fingertips over them feeling them as soft as silk. The beautiful pink flower released it's aroma of an indescribable kind. 

"Is-is that--" Keith's voice was low. 

"Yes it is. Juniberry." Lance's chest swelled with pride. 

Keith knelt down beside him to admire the patch of flowers growing at the foot of the tree. They were surrounded. There in that little patch of the woods grew the last colony of Juniberries in all of Altea. Keith estimated there must have only been about 100 flowers. 

"They're nothing like I imagined." 

Lance watched as the dark-haired boy's eyes widened with glee. It was the purest reaction that Lance had ever witnessed and the happiest that he had ever seen the other boy be. Seeing him like this and knowing that he had brought this about made Lance feel complete, like he had actually done something right. 

"How did you know that these were here? Keith said through a wide smile. 

"Just a feeling." 

Keith whipped out his phone and began taking pictures. "No one is going to believe this. This is probably the last population in the world, we could bring them back, we could breed them--" 

"I'm taking some." 

The smile faded from Keith's face. "What? You-you cant!" 

"It's just a few don't worry, there's plenty more where they come from." Lance took his scissors from his backpack. In his mind he imagined what Allura would say upon seeing them. 

Oh Lance! They are simply beautiful, I can't believe that you found them just for me. I just knew that they were out there, you are so courageous and thoughtful, let me give you a kiss... 

The hearts in Lance's eyes were knocked out by Keith's insistent rambling about how they needed to be protected. 

"Alright!" He shouted in disbelief. "I will literally just take one. Promise" 

"Only one. Then we are getting out of here. We can't draw attention to them. This place has to be kept a secret for now, imagine what people would do if they found out about this. The flowers really would be gone for good." 

Lance nodded and carefully snipped the stem of the flower so it was just long enough. 

"I will guard you with my life." He whispered to the flower. 

The two boys examined it in his hand. 

Keith's expression softened. "It's incredible that these have been here the whole time." 

"I bet you could make a pretty rad flower crown with some of these." 

Thinking nothing of the motion, he took the flower and tucked it behind Keith's ear. Instantly, the dark haired boy's cheeks flushed. He froze. 

He looks so pretty. Lance thought to himself. The same feeling crept up upon him again like it did the night they were in Keith's room. Lance's chest felt heavy and his mouth dry. Lance's hand twitched, and he knew what it wanted to do. 

Keith let out a wavering sigh. Words formed on his mouth but they couldn't leave. 

Lance's mind was blank. His thoughts halted to a stop as he let his body do as it wanted. He took his fingers and swept aside a stray piece of Keith's bangs and tucked them behind the flower. Keith's eyes widened as Lance's fingers lightly brushed against his forehead. 

Then the thoughts resumed, a million questions blared in his ears but he shut his eyes and willed them away. He took up the scissors and cut another flower. 

"La-Lance don't--" Keith stammered but it was too late. 

"I know I promised, but I can't take that one. It suits you." He swung his bag over his shoulder. "Let's go." 

As soon as Lance turned around Keith buried his mouth in his hands in disbelief. His cheeks were burning hot. The sensation of Lance's fingertips lingered. He couldn't stop replaying the moment over and over in his head. Keith's scrambled mind quickly tried to put the pieces together finally settling on his silent revelation.

Lance stared down at the Juniberry in his hand. He wondered if Allura would look as pretty as Keith with it in her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no clue that this chapter would totally throw me into some world-building stuff so here's a little extra info: Allura is Altean--a sort of secret race of aliens who have had dealings with Earth for a while and even lived there (founded Altea Bay) and did their best to stay out of the history books. In this AU, Earth has already achieved space travel and diplomatic contact with other alien species. They study these species at the school Keith's going to. The Garrison trains space travelers for exploration and security like in VLD. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys like this fluffly long-ish chapter I realize the chapters keep getting longer as I go haha. There are feelings flying all over the place now ;) 
> 
> The next one is gonna be a mixed POV! 
> 
> Next time: Keith thinks over his revelation then has a chat with Shiro. Meanwhile, Lance tries his best to win Allura's affections.


	8. Pink Roses

"Yes! Yes of course!" 

"Really?" 

"You are truly remarkable Lance. I can't thank you enough for fulfilling my dream." 

Allura's eyes sparked as she clutched the slightly wilted Juniberry flower in her hands. Even though the sun had set and only her front porch light illuminated her face Lance thought that she was as gorgeous as she had ever been. She was completely enamored with the delicate petals. 

"Well, where do you want to meet up? Or should I pick? Considering that you're new in town." The sunny boy winked. 

"You decide! Clearly you know much of the wonders of this town and I would be delighted to see them." She jumped up and down in her excitement. 

"Alright." Lance shot her a proud grin and then remembered. "Here let me." 

He gently took the flower from her hand and tucked it behind her long, swooping white locks. The stark contrast of the two colors was remarkable. The dazzling girl blushed from the gesture and fiddled with it in her hair. 

"H-how does it look?" 

"You look so stunning Allura." 

He took his fingers to brush stray strands of her hair behind the flower. Lance felt like his head was spinning. Lightly his fingers fell farther down to trace the skin under her chin. Immediately he regretted it once she stood back, started. 

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean--" 

"--Its alright." 

Lance watched in horror as the girl seemed to shrink a little and hugged her arms to herself. 

Shit. I blew it, God, I never think...She thinks I'm a creep. 

A gust of wind blew in between the space that distanced them. The wind chimes tethered to the porch violently clanged against each other into some nonsensical song. The flower delicately resting behind Allura's ear flew away from it's position. 

"No!" Allura grabbed out in desperation. 

Lance stumbled over the furniture as the flower skidded along the wood floor. Seconds before it flew into the darkness of the grass he grabbed it. 

"Thank you." Allura gingerly took it back, without making eye contact. "Shall I see you on Wednesday then?" 

Lance wanted to scream he was so relieved that he hadn't blown it. 

"Yes, yes. I'll meet you here at 4?" He hesitantly said. 

She nodded then retreated into her house. In spite of himself Lance did a victory dance on her front porch as the wind blew in again and the chimes gave him an obscure tune to dance to. 

~*~ 

Keith slid the back door shut and stood there for a moment. The dark interior of the house surrounded him. He shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and felt the crumpled petals. It was right where he had left it. He lazily leaned in to the sliding glass door and lightly knocked is forehead against it. This is a mess. This is a disaster. A low groan escaped from Keith's mouth as he let himself wallow for a moment. He ran the silky-soft petals through his fingertips, somehow it felt soothing. 

The dark haired boy threw his keys onto the table and missed. They gave a pathetic clang as they hit the ground. Everything felt pathetic. He flipped the kitchen lights on and went to get himself something to eat. Angrily, he tore the fridge door open to find it empty again. This was no surprise. Shiro did most of the shopping considering he was the one with the car. When he was gone most days, getting food in the house was pretty rare. Most of Keith's meals were obscure creations made up of left over odds and ends. Today's dinner was a couple of toaster waffles lathered with the last scrapings of strawberry jam. He chewed the limp waffle in slow bites, his eyes glued to the table spaced out. 

It suits you. 

Keith took the flower out of his pocket and examined it. The petals had become crushed and folded in his pocket and had become discolored. The stem had snapped. He didn't know what else to do with it once the reached the mouth of the forest again. It had remained tucked behind his ear for the hour and a half walk back to the parking lot. Lance hadn't said anything else about it since he had put it in it's place. The walk back was silent save for the "watch your steps" and "don't slip on the rocks". After the flower incident neither knew what to say; especially Keith, and he wanted to say something back so desperately. His chest ached thinking about the way that Lance's soft blue eyes inspected him with the Juniberry. He shivered remembering the slightest touch of his fingertips. 

"Shit" He whispered under his breath. Keith laced is pale fingers together and placed his head into them. 

His heart was racing when he was sitting perfectly still. 

Being around the sunny boy made him feel like he was melting; like the rest of the world could just smear like a raindrop running down the petals of a flower budding in the spring. His tanned freckled skin glowed along with his joking and aloof self like he was the literal embodiment of the giant star. He was weird and loud and energetic and very likely crazy but Keith couldn't care less. Being around Lance made him feel warm--his brashness snuffed out the silence that usually hung around him. 

The past couple days had been insanity. Ever since Lance had come over on Friday Keith's head felt like it was spinning trying to decipher what had happened. He felt indescribably drawn to the other boy as they sat shoulder to shoulder. There was something that burned inside of him and looking at him like that; he couldn't catch his breath thinking about what he wanted to. I wanted to kiss him. 

Keith shut his eyes shut and raked his fingers through his hair. I'm crazy. I'm loosing it. 

His mind wandered back to the forest and to that little patch of Juniberries and Lance's fingertips. Keith knew that it was unmistakable. In that moment, he had the exact same feeling...and it wasn't going away. Memories flowed in and out of his mind, painting images as clear as they had happened: cleaning Lance's scrapes, watching him hork down blueberry pie, watching him laugh from the backseat of Pidge's car, smashing buttons on his GameCube controller, viciously sucking at his juice pouch, his eyes sparkling under the twinkle lights in his own room. 

Keith cringed. Dwelling on all of those insignificant things shouldn't have mattered so much but he couldn't ignore them. 

The garage door creaked open and snatched Keith back to reality. Within moments his cousin entered the house with a few grocery bags in his hands. 

"I got us some dinner! I was thinking about making some pasta." Shiro's eyes wandered to the half eaten waffle on Keith's plate. "...If you still have the appetite for it?" 

Keith nodded gratefully and helped Shiro unpack the food. 

"How was work today?" Shiro kindly asked. 

"The usual, not too many customers, made a couple bouquets and some flower crowns for a birthday party; watered some stuff...you?" 

"Just a few calculations, the outpost out here doesn't get too much action." 

Then where are you all the time? 

"Ah." 

"And after work?" 

"Wha-what about after work?" Keith felt embarrassed for reasons unknown. 

"Didn't you get off at noon?" 

"Oh. Yeah. I did." 

"And?" 

"I went on a hike..." 

"A hike? That's unlike you." 

"Yeah, you know...trying new things." 

"Where did you go?" 

"Arus Woods." 

"Arus." Shiro smiled to himself as he put a pan of water on the stove. "I remember when I used to take you there. Feels like forever ago." 

"Yeah." 

"You just decided to go by yourself?" 

"Uh--no--" 

Shiro turned to give a proud grin to his younger cousin. "Who with?" 

"Lance...that guy from the other day." 

"He seemed...nice." It was in situations like these that Shiro still wasn't the best at playing his fatherly-like role. He was still awkward when it came to talking to Keith about his personal life. 

"He's...cool." Keith said then cringed, his head flashed the image of Lance in front of him once more, sweeping his hair away. The feeling stung in the back of his throat. Absentmindedly he ran his fingers over the flower in his pocket once more. Once he realized what he was doing he clenched is fists in his pockets. Why can't I get that out of my head? He hurried to continue helping is cousin cook. 

~*~

The two sat together side to side at their old wooden kitchen table, with Shiro at his usual spot at the head. They sat in silence under the solitary light above them, their pasta steaming, the only sound to be heard was their gentle blowing on the food to cool it down. Most meals together were eaten like this and neither of them seemed to have a problem with it; it was that weird unspoken promise that kept their two lives separate. Shiro shifted back and forth in his seat, there was something about him that seemed different. Living as long as he had with the older boy Keith had picked up on his mannerisms: the air of uneasiness around Shiro was foreign for the usually headstrong boy. 

"Keith, there's something that I need to tell you." 

The younger boy's nerves began to swell. Shiro's tone had turned serious. 

"What is it?" 

"I'm sorry that I haven't been around as much recently. I'm sure you've noticed and so have I. There's a reason--" 

"You don't have to be sorry, I know that you're working and studying at the outpost." 

"I appreciate it Keith but there's another reason. You have a right to know." 

"...know what?" Keith suddenly felt small under the sincere composure of his cousin. 

"That I'm seeing someone." 

"Y-you? Seeing someone? Like dating someone?" 

Shiro blushed slightly then looked away, attempting to hide his small prideful grin. "Yes. Someone who works with me at the outpost. They just started working there this summer." 

Keith's head spun. His cousin, the stoic Shiro was dating someone. He didn't even think it possible. Everything about the older boy emanated logic and stability, he never would have guessed him to do something that seemed...irrational. At least to him it seemed like it. However,with the distance that had grown between them, maybe there were things that he didn't know about Shiro. 

He toyed with the food on his plate, eyes down. He had no clue what to say to his cousin considering this was a topic they never really discussed. He muttered, "Well...what's she like?" 

Shiro cleared his throat and shifted in his seat as he had been doing before. "He's a data analyst. Mostly for statistical models and stuff. A hell of a lot better than I am. I requested an analyst at the beginning of the summer and..."

Keith swallowed hard. He? Everything else that Shiro had just said blew past Keith like some kind of breeze that only swiped by his ears. Shiro? And a he? For a moment Keith's eyes brushed over the muscled arms of his cousin, his broad shoulders and his commanding gaze. Keith had only ever just assumed--

"His name is Adam." 

The dark haired boy sat motionless in his seat. Too much had happened that day for him to comprehend. 

"Are-are you mad Keith? I know this is really unexpected but I've only ever wanted to be transparent with you." He brought his hand to Keith shoulder and met him with a softer expression. He gave it a squeeze. "You're my only family here." 

"No, no I'm not mad. I'm just...surprised." 

"I know, I was too."

It suits you. 

Keith tucked his hair behind his left ear. 

"I spent a lot of time thinking it over Keith. God, there were some nights when I couldn't sleep because it was the only thing that I could think about and you just can't name it. But then I thought to myself--" 

"--How did you know?" 

The words had spilled out of Keith's mouth before he could think twice. 

"You mean how did I know that I liked him?" 

Keith nodded, somber. 

"Well, I think it was just this feeling that I got when I was around him and when I wasn't: I just wanted to spend more time with him, and I didn't want it to end. Being around him felt natural; I didn't have to pretend to be anyone else around him. We could just talk for hours Keith, literally I mean hours. One day we stayed at the outpost till 3AM just talking about everything that we could and I still didn't want it to end. I felt like everyday that I would see him I had something to look forward to." 

Keith's chest rose and fell heavy. His heart was pounding and his breath felt short. 

"Keith?" 

"An-and it didn't feel wrong?" 

Once again, Shiro met his cousin's eyes sympathetically. "Yeah. It did...at first, but it's not--"

"How did you make it go away?" 

Keith clenched his fists harder until his knuckles turned white and his fingernails dug into his skin. He head fell as he let his long black hair fall in front of his face. That idiot. That stupid flower. Fucking Flower Crown. 

"Keith? What's going on?" 

Angry tears welled up in Keith's eyes which he furiously blinked away. He kept his head down, embarrassed for his cousin to see his redding eyes. "Answer the question." 

"Okay." Shiro hesitantly began."It did feel wrong, it felt like something deep down inside of me was saying that there was something wrong with me, that I was just confused or lonely or that I couldn't think right. The more that I thought about how it didn't make sense the more it really did. Dwelling on it made me feel sick. You know me, I need to know how everything functions, I need to be in charge and have a hold on the situation and then...well I was way in over my head. I didn't know a single thing about what was happening. But...I realized that I don't have to know. Some things need to just happen. You can't control everything Keith." 

"Then what did you do?" 

"Isn't it obvious? I let it happen. I let myself think about him. I let myself wonder and--" He chuckled. "Daydream." 

Keith chuckled slightly in response. Shiro daydreaming? 

"I finally came to the realization that Adam and I are just people and people fall in love everyday so why couldn't I?" 

Shiro reached up to squeeze his cousin's shoulder one more time. 

"You know that you can tell me anything, right Keith?" 

Under the veil of his hair Keith took out the Juniberry and studied it once more. His eyes stung holding back more unwanted tears. It looked pathetic in his hand. 

"Keith?" 

The younger boy lifted his head, feeling exhausted. He used his palm to wipe away and spare droplets. He placed the crushed flower in front of his cousin and sighed deeply, the air just barely entering his congested nose. 

"Lance gave me this." 

Shiro sat upright, that unspoken barrier between them shattering silently. 

"Everything that you just said, I-I've felt all of that too." 

Keith's vision clouded with a memory of that day in his room, just upstairs from where the two of them sat. He had mulled over it dozens of times and each time he was left feeling the same. Now, it was unmistakable. 

"I didn't want it to end. I can't stop thinking about the smallest things Shiro. It's driving me insane..." Keith took both of his hands and clutched clumps of his hair tightly. "I can't make it stop, that night when he came over I wanted to...I could have ruined everything; I have ruined everything. 

"Keith, calm down. Stop, look at me, you're not making sense. You haven't ruined anything." 

"You don't know that!" Keith's words came out of his mouth tangled in rage and despair. He blinked hard at the tears attacking him. 

"Then tell me about it!" Shiro's authoritative voice challenged. 

Keith fought back sobs as his body shook with desperate inhales. 

"I LIKE HIM! Keith slammed his fists on the table. A swell of emotions ran up out of his aching chest and got caught in his throat so thick he thought he was choking. The tears ran freely out of his eyes. 

"That's..great!" Shiro perked up, trying to remain steady as he watched his cousin turn inside out in front of him. 

"It's not..." Keith toyed with the strings of his hoodie before he brought his sleeves up to cover his face. He smelled it. The seawater mixed with the slightest bit of something else. He finally knew what it was. It was like maple syrup and pine. Lance. 

"Why not?" 

"He could never think of me the same." 

It had been unbearably hard to listen to Lance talk about the girl he had met. The more that Keith had thought about it he more he felt hopeless. Admitting it was one thing, but it wouldn't do anything. Never in his life would Lance give him the lilac that he had been thrilled to give her. 

"All the time that we spend together...that won't happen again if he knows. An-and I don't want it to end, even if it means that he doesn't ever know." 

"Keith, how can you be sure?" 

"I-I--" 

"If there is one thing about you that has never changed, it's that you don't listen Keith." He pushed the flower towards his cousin. "You're doing the exact same thing that I did." 

"What?" 

"Don't try to stop yourself. "Shiro flashed him a hopeful smile. "Come on, finish up your food and take a shower. You need to clear your head." 

Keith's cousin returned to eating his dinner silently. Outside of the sliding glass doors, the wide expanse of the sea sloshed back and fourth, and sparkled slightly with the white of the moon. The sound of cicadas rang rhythmically in patterns of ebbs and flows. Keith sat back catching his breath, feeling more tired than anything else. The Juniberry on the table stared back up at him, the magenta petals still barely holding on to the yellow bud. 

It suits you. 

"But I don't suit you." Keith barely whispered, shoving it back in his pocket. 

~*~ 

On the evening of Lance and Allura's meeting dark clouds of rain covertly disguised themselves the evening sunset . Grey cotton balls invaded the typical blue summer blanket of the sky. A chill held in the air with the coming rain with promises of a torrential downpour to come. 

Lance happily waltzed out of the grocery store with his plastic bag in hand. His head gravitated up to the terrifying looking sky as the first drops of rain began to fall onto the pavement and pattered on his forehead. Quickly the sunny boy took to his bike stashing the treasure inside of his backpack. The wind picked up it's pace, throwing his olive green jacket all around him. Ladies and their shopping carts rattled behind them as they rushed to their cars. If anyone could outrun the rain, Lance would have bet all the money had had on himself. 

Hands buckled to his handlebars he began to pedal with all of his might. The atmosphere of the stormy skies made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Lance liked to call it his sixth sense that he could predict the exact moment before the rain would fall, Veronica just liked to tease him back and call him Karen from Mean Girls. 

Lance shook any thoughts distracting him from his head. The rain was coming any minute now and we was just about to Allura's home. His chest rose and fell heavily with each pedal. Slightly he hoped to just catch the rain as he was sure he had drenched himself in sweat. He prayed that the contents of his backpack wouldn't get wet, that would ruin the whole purpose. 

At last he reached Allura's home to the backdrop of the sea looking darker and more tumultuous than he had ever seen it before. Upon seeing it like that he felt his knees lock. He could almost feel the salt water filling up his stomach and his lungs. He clumsily dismounted from his bike with his eyes fixed on the horizon. The ocean looked like it could rise up and pummel the land in an instant. He stood petrified in front of Allura's porch. 

One by one the raindrops fell, slowly at first, but then all at once in sheets. 

"Lance? Lance are you alright?" 

The angelic girl bounded towards him barefoot. Immediately her silver-white hair melded together under the rain. 

"Lance?" 

He hadn't noticed that Allura had grabbed him by the arms and taken him inside until all the sounds around him seemed to come to a silence. The tranquility of Allura's home was like being in a dream. The only thing stirring seemed to be the tick of the wall clock. 

"My goodness, you are soaking wet. I'll go get us some towels." 

Allura's footsteps softly thumped against the hardwood floor. 

Lance's mind slowly came back to him as he observed his unfamiliar surroundings. The inside of Allura's home had a type of cozy beach house feel to it. Seashell and lighthouse decorations were scattered around. Inside of the house he began to feel like himself again, like he was safe. He suddenly felt freezing as the air conditioning met his wet skin. 

"Here." Allura came from behind him and wrapped a fluffy towel around his shoulders and began to wipe him dry. 

"You don't have to do that." Lance gently took the towel from her. 

"What were you doing standing out there like that?" Allura brought her eyes to Lance as he stood only a couple inches away. Her mesmerizing eyes were clouded with concern. 

"I don't know." He returned softly. 

"Is everything alright?" 

"Yeah...yeah. Just looking out there reminded me of that day when we first met, I really thought that I was a goner." 

Allura smiled back sweetly to hand Lance an over-sized t-shirt and some swim trucks. "Sorry, this was the best I could find of my father's clothes. You need to dry up so you don't get sick." She took the towel back and began to messily dry Lance's hair. 

"I could get used to this." Lance muttered, his inner thoughts somehow escaping from where they should have been kept inside. 

The breathtaking girl groaned and stepped back to disappointingly look at the boy standing across from her. 

"A thank you would have sufficed." 

Lance smirked and sarcastically quipped "Thank you for getting me out of the rain." 

Allura rolled her eyes then fell into a reclining chair near to them. 

"I guess this means that we're trapped here until the rain stops huh?" Lance mopped up with the towel where he had been dripping on the floor. 

"I suppose so." She coldly remarked. 

In a way, Lance thought that she was adorable when she acted feisty like this. It only made him want to scoop her up in his arms even more. She had changed into sweatpants and a loose fitting shirt and still looked effortlessly beautiful. Lance gulped back hard swallows trying not to swoon. 

"Hey, I got you something." He grinned mischievously as Allura refused to look at him. 

From his backpack Lance drew out the plastic bag, the inside still dry. 

"Ta-da!" 

Lance presented to her a medium sized teddy bear that was colored light pink and red with little black glossy eyes and hearts on its feet and on its palms. On its white stomach was embroidered a couple of pink roses like a type of off-brand Care Bear. 

From the corner of her eye Allura allowed herself to look. She caved seeing how lovable it looked in Lance's tanned hands, as the sunny boy hopefully studied her with doe-like eyes. 

"This is also sufficient." She said as she snatched the bear away. "So cute." 

"Read the tag." 

"I've got a rose on my tummy because I want to show you that you are SO sweet. I admire you and I hope that you admire me too! Confession Bears LLC confessionbears.love.com Made in China? What does this all mean?" 

Lance couldn't help but giggle a bit to himself. "It means exactly what it says!" 

"What part of it?" Allura tiled her head, puzzled. 

"Well, I mean, the first part." Lance felt his heart quicken. 

"You have a rose on your tummy?" 

"No! No, no, I think you are..."

"Sweet?" 

"Yes! Yes." Lance breathed a sigh of relief. 

"You think I am sweet?"

"Yeah, and well, a lot of other things..."

"You admire me?" 

"I-I do--listen, I know the bear is really cheesy and everything but what I am trying to say is that--" 

"--I admire you too Lance." 

"I know this is really sudden and we've only just met but I needed to tell you that since I met you that day with the roses--wait, you, you admire me too?" 

Allura nodded quickly yet there was still a hint of hesitation written across her face. "You found the Juniberries for me. I haven't known anyone who would do that just for me." 

Lance's heart was just about ready to beat out of his chest. All he could think about was being closer to her; bringing her closer to him. He swiftly knelt down next to her as she sat. 

"I can't believe that you feel the same way." Lance chuckled hysterically, letting himself slip away. 

Nervously Allura smiled back at him, still a bit confused about his whole display. "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Yes!" Lance beamed and took her hands in his. "Allura, there is so much that I want to do with you, places that I want to bring you to, I have this whole last summer and I want to spend every moment of it with you, and-and I get you all the flowers I can and I'll take you to the Juniberries--" He voice came to an absolute stop. Lance who had already been overwhelmed with emotion couldn't take it much longer. There in front of him looking into his eyes and his eyes only was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. 

God she's gorgeous. 

"Lance?" 

"Allura you are breathtaking. I think I'm dreaming..."

"Dreaming? But you are not asleep--" 

Slowly Lance rose to press his lips gently on her forehead, letting them linger there for a couple seconds. Her skin felt so warm. Allura was frozen. 

"Wha-what--? Allura blushed. 

"I'm sorry, I know that came out of nowhere but you just looked so..." 

"--It's alright." 

"Are you sure?" 

"...Yes." She tucked her hair nervously behind her ear, prompting Lance to do the same motion after her. The white strands were still wet on his fingers. 

"What do we do now?" Lance was smiling obscenely. 

"I suppose I can make us something to eat?" The angel-like girl quickly rose. 

"I would love that." 

Lance lingered behind her for a moment, sitting on the hardwood floor trying to process everything. This was all so unbelievable he shuddered at the thought that he really might have been dreaming. He remembered the soft warmth of Allura's skin. This has to be real. 

Lance smiled gleefully and took his phone from his bag. 

"Keith, lets meet up tomorrow, you won't believe it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took me quite some time to get this one out, sorry about that! I'm in the middle of final exams so its been a bit crazy but starting next week I should have plenty of time to update! 
> 
> This one is another long one haha. Honestly I was having a hard time writing this chapter, I really wanted to write Keith coming to his feelings the right way so I did a couple rewrites, but I'm happy with how it turned out! :) 
> 
> ~Whats gonna happen when Lance tells Keith about all the new developments?~ 
> 
> Next time: The gang hangs out again and Keith is having a hard time dealing with keeping his feelings to himself...


	9. Teulia

The harsh blue light from his phone screen burned Keith's eyes. The tired boy lazily rolled in his bed to the tune of songbirds welcoming the new day and cicadas carrying their usual tune. Through the sheer curtains covering his window streaks of light radiated in beams. The warmth of the new day seeped taking over from the harsh thunderstorms from the night before. It was a perfect summer morning and Keith had to go to work. 

Keith, lets meet up tomorrow, you won't believe it. 

Keith shot up, grappling his phone in his hands, trying to decipher the text. It could have meant a million things but in his mind he knew what he wanted it to mean. Since talking to Shiro the night prior he was finally able to get a good nights rest. Granted, he did spend an hour doing exactly as his cousin had suggested: instead of doubting and pushing his thoughts of the sunny boy away, he let himself dwell on them. His eyes became blurry as he had stared at his ceiling, letting his mind run as it wanted. 

This is normal. I can think about him as much as I want I just can't...make it weird. 

When he thought about it, Keith felt an odd sick feeling in his chest when he thought about Lance and the night that he came over. It hurt, but at the same time he couldn't stop thinking about that one moment when he had said his name and almost let his body overtake him. He couldn't name it, but it somehow felt like...longing. 

Deep down, more than anything Keith wanted the text to be about him. He wanted Lance to say to his face that he was feeling something indescribable and was wondering if Keith was feeling it too. Maybe he felt like he was going crazy. Keith knew that Lance would definitely had beat himself up about it all. Maybe he would even blame him, tell him that it was his fault that he was feeling things that he shouldn't. 

Keith threw himself onto his back. Lance being mad at him was the last thing that he wanted; suddenly he wanted to see the other boy much less. Maybe I'd just be better calling sick into work today. 

Another notification buzzed Keith's phone on his stomach. 

Keith! Did you get my last text? When do you work today? 

Keith contemplated for a moment then deeply exhaled before responding. 

11\. 

Immediately Lance responded. 

I'll be there! 

What's this about? 

Keith dropped his phone on his chest and let out an irritated groan. The absence of the three dots indicated that the conversation was over...until...

I'll tell you there. 

"Damn you." Keith muttered. 

~*~ 

Keith had just barely put on his red florist apron when Lance came bellowing into the shop like he always did. 

"Keith! Keith!" 

"What is it Lance?" 

On his bike ride to the flower shop Keith allowed himself to have a brief reality check: the chances were what Lance had to say had nothing to do with him, so it wasn't worth getting his hopes up. He couldn't expect Lance to know what he was going through yet he still held onto it like was written on his forehead. Keith concluded that he was being ridiculous and wouldn't let himself get overly excited when Lance stumbled in; his hair looking all disheveled and perfectly soft when he came in. Keith did allow himself to wonder what it would feel like between his fingers.

"I've got the biggest news. Astronomical! I'm having a hard time believing myself." 

"Just get to the point." Keith rolled his eyes and checked the order roster for the day. 

"Last night, Allura and I well, we kinda made it official."

Keith heart felt like it dropped all the way down to his stomach. "Made it official?" 

Lance threw his hands up. "Not like that! I mean, I told her how I felt and she said that she felt the same!! And we're totally dating now." She smirked smugly. 

Keith couldn't believe it. The two of them had probably had a total of three conversations as far as he knew. It seemed like all she had to do was say his name and he was instantly hooked. This was just like him, but how could she even feel the same way so easily...

"I gotta tell ya, I really thought that I had no chance, I mean, she's so unbelievably gorgeous and I thought that she would never give me the time of day and then that other day at the beach when I almost drowned--" 

"--You almost drowned?" 

"Don't interrupt, I told you about that!" 

"...You did--?" 

"Yes! Weren't you listening? Jeez, I was saying that when she saved me that day I just knew that she was the one, she isn't like anyone else Keith, no one else in this town, no one else in this world...and she feels the same! You gotta help me out buddy I've got a whole summer of dates that I need to take her on, you seem like you would know a thing about corny stuff like that, I mean, you work in a frickin flower shop..." 

Keith's fists were tightly balled underneath the front desk of the shop. Nothing that he had told himself could have prepared him for this. They were already dating? If he had any sliver of a chance to say anything to the sunny boy it had been poured down the drain, caught on fire and was then decaying in a pile of trash. Anger, betrayal and confusion welled inside of Keith's throat. He wanted to throttle Lance but it wouldn't have made any sense. He didn't know anything about what Keith was feeling...and he wouldn't. 

"...So?" 

"So what?" The dark haired boy rose his head, trying to keep up every shred of resilience that he had to keep his composure. 

"Are you going to help me or not?" 

"You don't need my help, it seems like you've been doing just fine on your own." He said through gritted teeth. 

"Fine! I was just trying to help you feel included." 

"Included?" Keith grabbed the edges of the counter hard until his nails turned white. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" 

"Chill out!" Lance threw up his arms in defeat. Outside the shop window a large family walked by happily laughing. The filled the sound of silence in the shop created by Lance's sudden confusion. "What are you getting riled up about? We're friends I just wanted to let you know! In fact, you're the first person that I wanted to know since you've known about this since the beginning! God, isn't that what friends are for?" 

"Friends?" Keith's voice became soft. He knew that he should have been happy from earning just this one delegation, but he couldn't help but feel the words sting once Lance said them aloud. 

"Yes! Why aren't you happy for me?" 

"I--" 

"Just because I'm such a good friend, how about I ask you about your love life huh? Because that's what friends do!" 

Keith stammered, shocked by the sudden request. His eyes fell back down to the floor where his stool rested. His black Converse where faded and lightly caked in dirt. Random flower petals riddled the floor below the desk. 

"So is there anyone?" Lance griped, his hands on his hips. 

"Not like you care." Keith murmured, barely audible.

"What's that? You do?" 

"No!" He growled, then quickly ran his hair behind his ear. 

"Okay then! That's all I needed to know." 

"Since when do you care so much about our "friendship"? We barely know each other Lance," He followed with the whisper, "just like you and that dumb girl." 

"Since I started to get to know you!" Lance hesitated for a moment and licked his lips. His head whipped around him momentarily before he too put his hands on the counter. "Look, I know we didn't talk in school and you have some kind of weird "I'm a loner thing" but I thought that I could be a nice person and give you a shot! You're not exactly the most approachable person you know--" 

"What?!" 

"Listen, I like hanging with you, so can we just keep it at that? 

"Y-you do?" 

"Yes! Jeez Keith." Lance shook his head in disbelief then ran his hand over his forehead. 

"I like hanging out with you too." Keith returned, his voice small only because he was trying to hide his excitement. He slowly felt his whole reality-check pep talk melting away. 

"Great, now, are you gonna help or not? I told her that we can go out this Thursday and I don't have a clue what she might like." 

"Fine, I'll help you." 

"Thank you thank you thank you...Flower Crown." 

Lance grinned in Keith direction causing the flower shop worker to blush. He quickly hid it in his hands pretending to itch his nose. 

"Hunk and Pidge don't know a single thing about love. Hunk might as well be in love with food and Pidge in love with science. The two of them never talk about anything else." 

"Hmm." Keith eyes wandered to the bucket of yellow Chrysanthemums near the desk; he had a order that he had to make as soon as Lance quit talking. 

"That reminds me! The three of us are hanging out tonight, you should come!" 

Keith nodded. 

"Its a meteor shower tonight and Pidge wants to do some kind of science-y stuff when we got see them. Hunk's bringing the food. You down?" 

"Sure." 

"Great! Meet us at the poppy fields at midnight. That supposed to be the best time to see them." 

"Alright." 

"Text me ideas for that date!" 

"I'll think about it." 

Lance walked backwards out the door with the summer breeze lifting his jacket up in a cape like manner. As soon as he stepped outside the sun shone down upon him turning his chocolaty brown hair golden. "Don't sleep through it, you might miss it!" 

"I won't." Keith grinned slightly until Lance was out of sight. As soon as he had left he collapsed into the wooden desk stool, breathing heavily. He couldn't decide on how to feel about everything that had just happened. He giggled slightly, recalling the one thing that stuck out to him most, no matter how little it might have been. 

Lance likes being around me. 

~*~ 

"You're going out? At this time of night?" 

"I'm just meeting up with some friends, there's a meteor shower tonight. Didn't you know that? Isn't that what you do?" Keith threw on his now clean black hoodie and grabbed his house keys off of the kitchen table. 

"I did know that, but you have work tomorrow right?" 

Faced away from his cousin, Keith smiled slightly. "Come on Shiro, it the summer and you don't have to baby me anymore." 

"Are you going to see...him?" 

"It doesn't matter--I'll be back at 3 'kay?" 

"Alright..." 

"Invite your boyfriend over or something." Keith winked. His cousin immediately noticing how uncharacteristic it was. 

"Wha--Keith!" 

Keith slid the sliding glass door behind himself unable to wipe the exhilarated smile off of his face. He imagined Lance looking forward to seeing him too; a thought that he couldn't ignore. 

~*~ 

It was a slightly cold evening, but no colder than the regular summer night. Keith imagined that most people had gone to the beach to get the best view of the shower, even when he biked through town at that hour families and groups of teens were walking around jovially. It almost felt like the night of Fourth of July. The excitement and eagerness of the crowds was tangible. Keith sped up and down the hilly roads till he reached the highest point of Altea Bay. The once bright orange field was now darkened by the nighttime and the flowers appeared dull. A couple other groups of people had settled in to watch the show. Far in the middle Hunk, Pidge and Lance were setting up picnic blankets with little lanterns. Pidge's science instruments seemed big and clunky compared to the delicate flowers. Lance waved from afar once seeing Keith tip-toeing his way through the flowers, his bike raised. A social trail had formed a small path separating the flowers into two sides. 

"Keith! You made it!" Lance shouted, his voice echoing across the expanse. 

The dark haired boy flashed a smile back that Lance likely would not have been able to make out. This is nice. Keith thought to himself. Having friends like these. 

When Keith reached them Hunk was taking out several plastic containers from his backpack with food that looked like it was still warm. Condensation formed on the lids holding the food that wold bound to taste delicious. 

"Don't touch the equipment!" Pidge yelped as Keith tried to maneuver his way to put down his bike. 

"Over here!" Lance called, gesturing to the other bikes in a heap nearby. 

"Oh ho ho man, I can't wait for you guys to try this." Hunk beamed, opening up one of the containers. It let out a scent that smelled utterly amazing. The air became riddled with the smell of spices that Keith couldn't recognize. 

"We've got a little bit before the peak of the shower so let's eat first." Hunk said, passing out little plastic bowls. 

Keith knelt down next to Lance as Hunk set them up. Pidge fidgeted with her computer and a couple types of telescopes and commanded Hunk make her bowl for her. 

"Hunk this looks amazing buddy, what is it?" Lance asked. 

"That's Kale Moa, its my favorite type of chicken dish...annnnd..." Hunk took out another container. "Ta-da! Pickled red ginger! Or we also call it Teuila, it has this super pretty red flower. You like flowers right Keith?" 

Lance elbowed his friend. 

"Heh, yeah..." Keith nervously returned. 

"Oh! You guys will love this one..." He took out another container holding eight perfectly shaped golden buns covered in a white sauce. "Pani Popo!" Hunk beamed under the lantern light as he released a coconutty smell from the container. "You can't not love Pani Popo." 

Lance took a fork to one of the buns and scarfed it down in seconds. "I love it!" He said with his mouth full. 

For a while the little group sat together eating and laughing over Hunk's homemade food. They talked about the dumbest things like what they would do if Voltron really existed, what a laser really sounds like and what that would name a cow if they were to collectively get one. They decided on the name Kaltenecker. It just seemed right. 

An hour had gone by before they knew it. The food had been eaten and they patiently waited for the peak of the shower to be visible. Lance had brought a speaker with him and decided to play some of his favorite songs for them. Keith was expecting something more poppy and in your face but instead it was a lot of soft sounding Spanish guitar. Lance said that his dad and sister played guitar and songs like this reminded him of their nights together as a family. 

Off in the distance the sounds of crashing waves bounced in the air. The songs of crickets and cicadas swelled too in irregular patterns that somehow worked together. The chilly night breeze held a tint of seawater in it. Below him Keith ran his fingers over the softness of the picnic blanket. He couldn't but help feel a little sleepy; he thought that being in the flower shop was calming, but nothing compared to his. 

"There's one!" Pidge squealed, taking to her telescope. 

The other three whipped their heads up in the direction of the sky. 

"Aw dang, we missed it." Lance said dejectedly. He moved from where he was sitting to behind Keith, their backs facing each other. "You look that way and I'll look this way." He commanded. 

Keith nodded, his eyes glued to the sky. 

"We should be able to see a few of them but some of them might be faint." Pidge informed them. 

Behind him, Keith heard Lance shuffling around until he was startled by the sudden warmth of Lance's back meeting his. Lance leaned directly into him. 

"You can lean back too, my back was getting tired." 

Keith silently did as he was told. He prayed that Lance couldn't feel his racing heartbeat inside of his chest. He immediately noticed the sharpness of Lance's shoulder blades as they slightly poked into him. It was slightly uncomfortable but he wouldn't dare move. Above them the normal starts of the night sky glimmered in their vast array. There was so many of them that Keith couldn't count. He tried his best to make out some constellations that he head learned in his astronomy class to distract himself from the warmth emanating off of the boy behind him. He wanted to be completely wrapped up in it. 

"There's another one!" Hunk exclaimed. 

Over them in the wide canvas of the sky Keith say the meteor flash by so quickly he could have missed it if he had blinked. The white streak of light lingered in his eyes. 

"Wow." Lance whispered. 

On his shoulder Keith felt the weight of Lance's head softly rest upon it. 

A meteor shot across the sky, then another one and another one following after it. Keith gulped hard leaning back a little harder to support Lance. 

"There's so many!" Said Pidge, a wide smile practically visible just from her voice. 

"There's one." Lance muttered faintly into Keith's ear. He sounded almost as if he was drifting off to sleep. 

Keith inhaled sharply gathering his courage. He wanted to take the risk more than anything. He too leaned his head back and rested it on Lance's shoulder. Regret filled him up as his action was met with a sigh by the sunny boy but Lance didn't move. Instantly Keith became painfully aware of how their cheeks were lightly touching, the tiny peach-like hairs on Lance's face tickling him slightly. 

"You make a wish?" Lance muttered to him. 

"What?"

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" 

"I guess so."

The two boys waited silently until another meteor made itself seen. Keith closed his eyes tightly. 

I want him to be loved. Really loved. Even if it isn't me. 

"You do it?" 

"Yeah." 

"Cool. Me too." 

"You're not gonna ask right?" 

"No, you can't do that. I'm not dumb, Flower Crown." 

Keith let out a breathy laugh and Lance followed.

"Crazy to think that we'll be leaving this place soon and learning all about what's up there. It doesn't seem real." 

"It doesn't" The dark haired boy sighed deep, his heart rate finally under control. 

"Keith?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I don't want this summer to end." 

"Me neither." Keith whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww pining Keith makes me so soft I love him so much! In this fic I took a different approach to the character since I think he is a bit more angsty in the show but I'm just a sucker for his softer moments so I wanted to highlight that in my fic while still trying to keep him a bit hot tempered at times. I love the character depth that both him and Lance get in the show I applaud the creators!!! 
> 
> Hope you guys liked the subtle VLD references ;) 
> 
> Also I did a bit of research for Hunk's Samoan dishes which was super fun; if I got anything incorrect please let me know!
> 
> Next time: Time Jump! Keith helps Lance romance Allura but he can't help but feeling left out and Lance feels he might not be good enough...


	10. Irises

Three weeks later--mid June. 

It was a sweltering hot day in Altea, the warmer temperatures usually came in July but this year they had different intentions. More than half of the town could be found at the beach and the short boardwalk where the carnival games and the food vendors had opened up for the season. It was days like these when no one came to the flower shop, and Keith was left to man the desk. He wasn't one for going to the beach or swimming even--besides, after Lance had mentioned how pale he was he decided he wouldn't be showcasing himself anytime soon. 

Far in front of him, the Altea Bay lighthouse reflected from the sunlight of the cloudless sky. It was painted stark white and was a bit of a staple for the town. Keith had always wondered what it was like to work there; looking down at all of the people in the town. He figured sometimes it must get lonely. He turned his phone right-side up to check for texts from Lance. 

Ever since they had made some kind of truce, Keith had been helping him with date ideas, present ideas, text responses, he even recommended what flowers Lance should give her according to their specific meaning--although Keith was certain that she didn't know a thing about that. From yellow Tulips to Morning Glories and from white Jasmine to Heliotrope, Keith figured at this point he might as well been dating Allura with all of the subliminal messages he had been curating for her. Lance could never have figured out any of that on his own. 

Almost every time he had a shift or Lance would have a delivery, the only thing that the two of them would now talk about was Allura. Allura Allura Allura. They talked about it so much Keith felt like it was the only thing that the two of them could talk about. The two boys had even hung out a couple more times at each of their respective homes and she had still been the topic of conversation. 

When Lance and Allura had their first kiss Keith was just about ready to throw up. Since the truce Keith had decided to remain as partial as he could--for the sake of the friendship. Most feelings that he harbored for the sunny boy were kept under wraps for as long as he could stand it. Of course, he didn't let them disappear completely. Every once and a while he would allow himself to glance for just a little longer at the other boy's warm and lithe figure, his eyes connecting his hundreds of freckles on his cheeks and peeking out of his shirt. He couldn't help but smile back when Lance would flash a white and toothy grin. He even sometimes imagined what Lance's arms would feel like wrapped around him as he sat at the desk, giving him a hug from behind, asking him little things like how his day was going. 

The dreams would vanish as quickly as they would arrive as soon as the word "Allura" would form on Lance's lips. That's all it was, just dreams. 

Keith's phone buzzed beside him. 

You get off in an hour right? Meet me at the boardwalk entrance. 

~*~

"You like lemonade right?" 

Lance presented his friend the large cup of cold liquid that had kept his hand cool for the last twenty minutes. Keith sure took his time getting to the boardwalk. 

"Yeah, thanks." 

The dark haired boy gingerly took the cup leaving Lance to wipe of the wet condensation covering his hand. Lance noticed that Keith was looking nervous like always, but that wasn't the first thing that the freckled boy had noticed. Keith was actually wearing something colorful. It looked like it was a red t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off with scissors. 

"It looks stupid right?" 

Lance jumped a little, not knowing Keith had been observing him. 

"My shirt? I didn't think that I would be going out after work and it's hot as hell out here." The dark haired boy toyed with the rolling fabric of one of the cut sleeves. 

"nO!" Lance squeaked, a voice crack ailing him. 

Keith gave him a confused expression in response. 

"I think it's uh...cool! Really ummm edgy ya know? Kinda ~your vibe~ it's very...not black." 

"I already know that I have pale-ass arms so you don't have to say anything about it." 

"--I wasn't!" Lance squeaked again, the source of his embarrassment unknown. 

"Why'd you tell me to come here? More Allura stuff?" 

Lance began walking forward with his head down. "Yes...and no." 

"So is it or isn't it?" 

"Let's just...take a walk okay?" 

Keith followed a couple paces behind him. "Alright." 

Around the two boys, tourists and vacationers bustled past them. The creak of the wooden boardwalk groaned under their steps. The sound of seagulls and children laughing seemed to meld together into the same high-pitched shriek. The "bing!" of the carnival games sounded every ten seconds or so. Upon the air, the smell of buttered popcorn and sickly sweet cotton candy wafted. It was just a summer day like any other but none of it could calm the knots forming in Lance's stomach. 

The two had just about reached the end of the boardwalk with only a few vendors left before it dropped into the sea. At the end, families and couples stood taking pictures with each other to the view of the vast expanse of the ocean--which looked particularly friendly today to Lance. The salty smell of the ocean swelled with the rippling white waves as they met the greening wooden poles supporting the walkway. 

Beside him, Keith sipped on his lemonade, his cold fingers turning red and white. He had remained respectfully silent on their walk. This was one of the things that Lance found himself very appreciative of Keith: the fact that he could just sense what Lance was feeling, and he knew when not to overstep. He looked calm as he gazed out upon the ocean. The sea-breeze fled through his dark black strands of hair as it lapped along with it. Kind of like blades of tallgrass, Lance thought to himself. It looked very elegant. 

Everything about Keith seemed to ooze clarity and tranquility. Every time that Lance was around him he was reminded of the night of the meteor shower. Something about that evening was so comforting and safe, being around Keith always felt like that. Even with the craziness and anxiety of his new love life, being with Keith felt like he could take a breather. He was a great listener, especially when Allura wasn't making any sense at all. Lance couldn't deny how he was definitely in love but there was always one thing lingering on his mind. 

Lance brought his hand to his temples and rubbed them. A pain in the front of his head rang like a migraine. He took his own cold plastic glass to his forehead. 

"Get a grip." He whispered to himself behind gritted teeth. 

"So what is it?" Keith calmly said, stepping forward. The two of them stood at the edge of the boardwalk. 

Below him, the water looked like it was a million miles deep. Lance shivered. 

"Do you think that I'm doing it right?" 

"Doing what right?" 

"I don't know, everything? Am I doing what I'm supposed to? Am I really making her happy or is she kinda just tolerating me until she gets tired of me?" 

"Where's this coming from?" 

Lance scoffed, kicking the wooden boards, carefully staying away from the edge of the boardwalk. "Sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I'm trying or what I give her or say to her it just isn't going to be enough. It's a miracle that we're together. I'm just wondering when it's all going to end. When she's gonna...wake up...and see me for what I really am." 

"What you really are?" 

Lance looked to his friend who had slightly cocked his head in confusion. He looked so pure and unknowing. 

"Lance I don't understa--" 

"I'm a fraud! I don't know what the hell I'm doing! I act confident and I flirt but I don't know a single thing about getting girls to like me, I mean, how come I've never dated one until just now?! We are literally just about to go to college Keith, doesn't that seem strange? Every day I'm winging it and now that I actually have something going for me it just feels like a matter of time before I blow it all up." 

"I've never dated anyone before." Keith softly returned. "I don't think that matters." 

"I-I'm sorry..." guilt slapped Lance square in the face. 

"And I think you're overthinking it all, who cares if you're making it all up or winging it, at least you have to courage to put yourself out there..." Keith trailed off, his eyes falling down. He put his cup down and sat at the edge of the pier with his legs danging off the side. 

Lance sat down next to him but crossed his legs instead. 

"What's got you thinking about all of this anyways? As far as I know Allura is perfectly happy being with you." Keith looked out. 

"Yesterday we were at her house just hanging out in her room talking about what we wanted to do for our one month anniversary and for some reason I just felt really...tired? Like exhausted because I feel like I'm constantly thinking of things that would make her happy like everything I do has to be some kind of grand gesture for her to want to keep being with me. Don't get me wrong I love grand gestures, just being with her makes me feel like I have to maintain this weird cover of myself so she doesn't find out that I don't have a clue...I don't know..." 

"You feel like you can't be yourself around her?" 

"She deserves the world Keith, and I'm trying to give it to her, I just didn't know that it would be this hard. Shouldn't loving someone be easy?" 

The two boys sat in silence for a moment, both holding their view facing the horizon. At last, Keith signed and took his long, mullet like hair in his hands and made it tiny low ponytail. 

Looks kinda cute. Lance offhandedly observed. 

"Yes, it should be easy. But that doesn't mean that it comes for free. Loving someone is letting that other person see you for who you are, and offering yourself to them knowing that it might come at a cost...but that's part of the risk. You can't cheat by trying to be what you think they want you to be, then it's all just...a lie." 

Silence hung in the air with a somber weight. As much as Lance hated to admit it, he could see the truth in what Keith had said. He studied his hands and took the dirt from underneath his fingernails just trying to find something to do rather than respond. 

"I like someone too." Keith said after a long silence, almost too quiet for Lance not to hear him over the sound of the crashing waves. 

"You do??" Lance sat up straighter to look the boy sitting next to him in the eyes but Keith did not meet him. Stray strands of choppy bangs left out from the ponytail bounced in the wind. 

"And I've been doing the same thing." 

The sunny boy leaned in in anticipation. 

"I've been lying too. I haven't been myself. I'm scared that when I do I'll disappoint them, or maybe even make them hate me." 

"Keith! Buddy why didn't you tell me!? We totally could have worked this out for you! Who are they? Come on, you gotta tell me!!" 

Keith's head rose and giving Lance a kind smile in return. "It sounds like you've got your own problems that you're dealing with." Behind the smile, Lance noticed a twinge of sorrow. 

Lance groaned. "You can't just leave me hanging like this!" He smirked, "I thought I was the only person that you talked to Flower Crown." 

"Shut up." The dark haired boy nudged Lance hard, causing him to lean a bit to the side. 

"So?" Lance tried his best to dish out his best puppy-dog eyes. 

"We're getting off topic here." 

"Well, we'll fix my problem and we'll fix yours, seems like we're in the same boat anyways." 

"Yeah..." 

"I don't know why you'd think that bud, I like hanging around you so I don't see why they wouldn't wanna be around you. I mean, assuming that you're not lying to me...are you?" Lance gave him a playfully mysterious glance. 

Keith shifted where he sat, his lips forming into a disgruntled line. "Ah--no." 

"Great! How about this: I'll try to loosen up around Allura and you try to do the same with the gal you like then we'll report back. Sound good?" Lance shot up and stretched his arms wide. 

"Uh--Lance--" 

"Wow! I'm feeling better already after talking about this." 

As he began to walk away he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. 

"Wait, Lance, there's something ...ar-are you sure that I should do it? Stop the lying?" 

"Yeah bud, have you ever heard of listening to your own advice?" 

Keith's grip didn't let go of the back of his shirt. 

"Okay...um can you like, turn around?" 

Without a thought, Lance did as he was told. The sun was setting into golden hour and the yellow rays illuminated upon Keith's irises, turning the stormy blue-grey color into something lighter and much softer. Suddenly Lance got that creeping feeling like he once had before. It was like the two of them were sitting in Keith's room once again. 

"Lance, I know that this probably isn't the right time, but I'm listening, and I might as well tell you that--" 

"LANCE! KEITH!" 

Both of the boys heads whipped in the opposite direction. With cotton candy and corn-dogs in hand Pidge and Hunk came running towards them, thrilled smiles on their faces. Their running footsteps slapped hard against the wooden floor. 

"We were just about to text you!" Hunk beamed, "Looks like we don't have to!" 

Lance looked over to his companion who appeared crestfallen. Lance couldn't help but feel terrible, and like Keith was on the cusp of saying something that must have been really important. 

"Hunk wants to go on the spiny ride, but told him he would barf; anyone wanna place some bets?" Pidge's eyes manically grinned behind her wire-framed glasses. 

"I'd take that bet." Lance said smiling back at his friends. Behind him, it looked like Keith had shrunk to half of his size. "Come on, let's join them." He reached over to the boy with raven-black hair and squeezed his shoulder. His skin was very warm to the touch. "We can pick this up later." 

Keith nodded gloomily. 

~*~

"Ma! I'm home!" Lance threw his olive jacket on an ottoman resting by the front door of his house. 

"She's not here! Went to the grocery store!" Veronica's voiced echoed through their small home. 

Lance's tall and athletic looking sister appeared from around the corner. 

"You showed up just in time. I'm getting tired of helping her in the kitchen, either I'm doing something wrong or I'm not doing it right enough for her liking." 

"Sounds like her." Lance laughed back. "But I ate at the boardwalk, I'm not hungry." 

"She'll make you eat." 

Veronica assumed her normal spot sprawled over their old recliner. "You went with Hunk and Pidge?" 

"Yeah...and Keith." 

"Ahhh Keith." 

"What do you mean "Ahhh Keith?" "

"I was just remembering that you guys hang out now." 

"Is that like a surprise or something?" 

"No, no, he just doesn't seem like someone who you would hang out with that's all." 

"I don't get it." In his throat Lance felt a bubbling anger that he couldn't understand. 

"You know, he's not like Pidge and Hunk, you don't have as much in common I guess." 

"So I can't be friends with him because he's not bouncing off the walls or something like I am?" 

"Lance! Chill out! It's not that serious, I'm just thinking out loud here." 

"Well...think quieter." 

"I don't know why you're getting all defensive about this." Veronica sat up, taking an authoritative posture in her chair. 

I don't know why I am either. 

"I just think that you're underestimating him is all." 

"Okay!" Lance's sister threw up her arms in defeat. "Let's change the subject. How about ~your girlfriend~? 

Lance felt warm. "What about her?" 

"Is she coming around soon? I'm dying to meet her after you've hyped her up for so long." 

"She'll come over..." 

"Do you not want her to come over or..." 

"Who said that I don't want her to come over?" 

"No one, but Lance, listen...I know you--" 

"Nothing's wrong! I'm just...figuring some stuff out. It's my first time doing the dating thing." 

"Alright..." Veronica leaned over to the side of the chair where she picked up her notebook. She flipped to a page then took out her phone with a saved image. It was an odd shaped purple flower with petals that looked like a firework exploding. The sketch looked half-way done. 

"You don't draw." Lance said, deadpan. 

"I'm trying to get into it. Or maybe I'm just bored." 

"What is it?" 

"An iris. Damn hard to draw. I should have picked something easier. They are supposed to symbolize wisdom or something. Maybe I'll get smarter once I finish this. You know what they say at the Garrison: "patience yields focus." " She let out a sarcastic sounding laugh. 

"Whatever weirdo, I'm going to take a shower." 

~*~ 

Lance closed his eyes with the cold water from the shower streaming down upon him. It felt amazing compared to the warm evening air outside. He took deep breaths in and out, focusing solely on the one sensation. It was distraction enough from the replay of Keith's pitifully sad expression rolling over in Lance's mind. All he could do was wonder what the boy from the flower shop wanted to say and why he looked like his whole world was ending when Pidge and Hunk arrived. Why did he look so nervous? Why did he ask for permission to tell the truth? 

He took his thin fingers and wiped water from his face. 

Maybe Veronica was right. There were things about the Keith that he felt like he couldn't understand or identify with. He was so quiet all the time it seemed almost like he was wrapped up in his own world. Lance would be lying if he didn't admit that he really wanted to know what was going on inside Keith's head. Lance figured that he really must have been hiding something. 

Was that what he was going to tell me? 

Lance groaned, a combination of frustration and confusion. He inhaled deeply once more. 

Dumb Garrison. Dumb Veronica. Patience yields focus my ass. 

He took a blob of shampoo and began to massage it into his hair. 

A sudden crack of thunder echoed outside, forcefully shaking the house.

A flash of lightning illuminated the sky as Lance closed his eyes once more. The gentle sound of rain pattering on the bathroom window sounded a bit like the ripple of the Arusian River. Lance reached out in front of him for the softness of a touch that he had forgotten. 

Where did that flower go? 

He was shaken by another crack booming outside of the bathroom window. On the other side of his eyelids, the world became dark. 

"Ay! The power!" Lance's mother wailed loudly from downstairs. 

Lance's eyes flew open only for foamy soap to drip down and burn his eyes. 

"Ah shit--" He mumbled, furiously rinsing them in the dark. 

"Lance! Get down here!" His sister yelled. 

"Coming!" 

Lance wrapped himself up in a towel and fumbled into his room, putting on whatever clothes he could aided by the light from his phone's flashlight. Once he was ready he stumbled down the stairs, the thunder crackling, silencing the vibration from his phone that he had left in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close!!!! I think we all know what Keith was about to say ;) Poor boy though, the time definitely wasn't right. 
> 
> Although, I think Lance is tapping into something that he might have forgotten about...
> 
> Keith really does need to listen to his own advice hehe. 
> 
> I am SO excited to write the next chapter and share it with you guys, I've been planning it for probably about a month now and it'll mark a real turning point for these two boys ;) 
> 
> Next time: One night Lance conquers a couple of his fears with some help from Keith...


	11. Baby's Breath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter after this is in tandem with this chapter! Thank you so much for reading :)

Keith watched as his toes sunk deeper into the wet sand disappearing slowly, then all at once. He wondered what it would be like if the earth swallowed him up and took him in farther and farther away from where he stood. It didn't seem all that unrealistic. Softly the waves lapped against the shore, their white and foamy fingers lacing around his ankles. 

~*~ 

11 hours earlier 

"There's two deliveries today, bouquet of Sunflowers and a flower crown of Baby's Breath; get this: it's literally for a baby. Someone is doing a photo shoot with their newborn today and they want it for the photos. Isn't that adorable?!" 

Keith's boss Kelli bounced up on her tip-toes and cradled her face in an adoration. Her auburn hair tied in a high ponytail bopped up and down in her excitement. 

"This is just what I love about this job." She sighed deeply, almost looking like she was about to cry. "You should put some of the ribbon on there too, check out the binder for some ideas." 

Keith nodded and took out the floral wire and scissors from the drawer. 

"When are the deliveries?" 

"The sunflowers are at noon and the crown is at three. Lance should be here soon, I texted him this morning. But you know...knowing him--" 

"--I doubt he's up yet." 

"Exactly." Kelli winked. "I'll be back at 5 for the last shift. Got any plans tonight?" 

"Plans?" 

The two of them shared a laugh. 

"I'm just saying that it's the summer and its nice outside, why not go to the beach or something? You've been hanging with Lance right? He surfs, ever think about learning?" 

"Surfing? Ahh I don't know..." 

"You know what? Because I'm a ~cool boss~ I'll let you go at 4 today. I don't mind coming in early. Go to Seidou's or something you could take Lance." 

"What do you mean take Lan--" 

"--You know what I mean." Kelli winked once more and took off her apron. 

Keith rested his head against the desk, his face feeling hot against his arms shielded by the fabric of his black hoodie. 

"Get on those Sunflowers!" 

~*~ 

"Shit! I'm late!!" 

Lance threw open the door to the shop causing the bells to jingle angrily. He was indeed late. The antique grandfather clock sitting in the corner began it's tune as the big hand clicked to the 9. 

Disheveled as always, Lance wore wrinkled clothes that looked like they had been taken out of the hamper. Normally his chocolate brown hair was somewhat put together in a way that made sense but today Lance had abandoned any efforts. He wore a sky blue shirt under his delivery jacket that was tucked into crinkled light wash jeans. 

Keith noted how huggable Lance had unknowingly managed to look that day. 

"Please don't tell me that they live on the opposite side of town." He panted. 

"Shouldn't you know? Kelli should have texted you the address." 

"Oh, right." 

Lance hastily took out his phone and wiped sweat from his forehead. 

"Thank God, 30 minutes but I can do it 15. Where's the flowers?" 

Keith nodded his head in the direction where they waited in a painters bucket. 

"Great! Listen, I've got lunch with Allura but I'll be back after that for the other order. You want anything from the torta guy?" 

Keith silently cursed Lance for being so considerate. 

"No, I'm fine...thanks." 

"Suit yourself." 

Lance took to his bike, his bell ringing distantly telling others on the sidewalk to get out of his way. 

The flower shop worker slid from his chair to the back of the room where the baby's breath was kept. Carefully he picked out the best looking stalks, each of them so small and delicate making up a tiny bouquet in his hand. His fingers lightly searched through the flowers to make sure that none of them were bruised or brown. Briefly Keith imagined what they would look like atop a tiny baby head. He ran his fingers over the small petals as they released a bit of sweet scent. 

From the front of the shop he could hear the chatter of passerby's and the familiar chime of the door opening to Seidou's. Keith hadn't noticed but Lance must have opened the shop door so far it automatically locked. Not that it was an issue, it was a casually warm day and the breeze blowing into the shop stirred up the flowers in a way that made them bow and sway; it was a calming and welcome presence. 

Keith sat back in his stool and took to work, snipping and weaving the flowers around the floral wire. The repetitive motion always seemed to put him into some kind of trance that made everything around fade away, like he was floating upon the stillness of the evening sea. Keith's eyes rose at last from his work to the beach in the distance where brightly colored umbrellas peppered the shore. The memory of hot sand between his toes emerged from a place that he had long since ignored. 

From the corner of his eye a fluttering object swooped back and fourth then landed on the edge of the front desk. A small white butterfly, no bigger than quarter flexed it's wings and rested. 

"You like the flowers too huh?" 

Keith admired the tiny flower crown in his hands. It was small enough to be a bracelet on him. He breathed a laugh thinking about what the tiny thing would look like on Lance's head. 

"Blue looks better on you." He softly said, his eyes wandering to a group of Forget-Me-Nots in pots. 

~*~ 

"Allura! Hey!" Lance waved vehemently to his girlfriend who was looking lost in the middle of The Alley. 

"Lance! It's a bit past 12:30..." 

The two of them met in the middle, nearest the copper fountain in the middle of the square. 

"I know, I'm sorry, I had a delivery today, the customer was a bit chatty; and I think that I talk alot--" 

"--It's alright." 

An awkward silence sauntered in between them, leading Lance to remember the pact that he had made with Keith. No more pretending. 

"I asked you to meet me here because I want you to try something really special to me. It's not too fancy but...here, you wait here for just a sec I'll be right back." 

Lance happily skipped away to the older man running to torta cart. He was greeted with the same kind smile that the man always served as he asked for his order, skipping the small talk this time knowing that his girlfriend was waiting. 

"Gracias." he nodded, then skipped back. 

Lance proudly presented the small package to her."I asked him not to put any meat, so you don't have to worry about that." 

Allura tentatively took the wrapped sandwich in her hands and unwrapped it, inspecting it thoroughly before taking her first bite. Next to her the sunny boy sat at the edge of the bench waiting for her reaction. 

"It is...different," Her eyes rose to meet with Lance's pleading and hopeful eyes. "But it is good!" she returned with an uncomfortable looking smile. 

"Really? I'm so happy to hear that, we can come here again sometime!" 

Allura silently nodded and took another bite. 

"I have a couple more hours before my next delivery, would you like to do something after this?Maybe we could walk up to the poppy fields? I know the best spot to just sit and chill out there." 

The angel-like girl nodded once more, then slouched before hesitantly saying, "Perhaps we could go to the beach? It is a very beautiful day today and I would like to go with you..." 

Panic swelled inside Lance's chest overflowing like water filling up his lungs. 

"Uh--maybe we can do that another day? It just--it looks really crowded there today so...we should go when we can get a good spot right?" 

"Lance, are you sure?" Allura's eyebrows furrowed with her crystalline blue eyes interrogating the boy sitting next to her. "Is it not because of--"

"Yeah! Totally sure, I just...want to be prepared, you know, get us some food... our boards...it's more of a day-long activity you know?" 

Beads of sweat ran down his back under his shirt. Lance felt his breath quicken thinking about standing at the edge of the shore. 

"Let's go for that walk. You wanna get some ice cream or something?" 

Lance shot up from his seat. Above him a group of seagulls passed by squawking across a cloudless sky. He reached out his hand for his girlfriend to take, instead it was met with the crinkly feeling of the wrappings of her sandwich. 

"Alright, shall we get going?" 

Lance stared at it in his hands.

~*~ 

"I'm back." Lance announced, trudging into the flower shop, his brown flip-flops sadly slapping against the linoleum flooring. 

Keith almost hadn't noticed that he had entered since he hadn't come barreling in like always. He had been zoned out at the desk for the last couple of hours, fighting sleep since the day had been mostly customer-less. 

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. 

"I suck at being myself." The not-so-sunny boy lamented, sitting on top of the desk. He took a stray piece of Baby's Breath and twirled it between his fingers before letting his hand go limp and slamming it on the wooden desktop. 

"You're not one to mope." 

The dark-haired boy stretched his arms wide and yawned, then rested his chin in his hand. His eyes became focused on the small folds in the back of Lance's soft looking shirt. 

"I'm moping because I was trying to be myself. You know like we said? But it didn't feel any different..." 

Selfishly, Keith felt a twinge of hope. He felt terrible for feeling it, and pushed it down far as soon as it emerged but still, it made itself known and ached in his chest. 

"What happened?" 

Lance waved his hand in the air like he was brushing away the issue and rang his head down in defeat. "It doesn't matter anymore now." 

He signed deeply, his shoulders rising and falling with the motion. Keith watched as the folds in his shirt responded. He longed to touch it, his fingers crept of their own accord a little closer to the hem resting on the desk. Would he notice? 

"--I might as well head out for that delivery, better to be early than late." He slid off while taking the small white box in his hands and examined it though the little clear plastic window. "Way to go Flower Crown!" Lance smirked, curling one side into it's classic formation. "You've done it again." He gave the boy across from him a playful punch on the arm. 

"Th-thanks."

"This one is a bit far...but that's no issue, I'm Lance McClain! Fastest delivery boy in all of Altea Bay!" He proudly posed with his hands on his hips. 

"I bet you are," Keith said, rolling his eyes. He watched from the shop window as Lance placed the box in his milk crate and secured it in place with some bungee cords. He sat on his stool, his knee bouncing up and down, his eyes once more wandering to the beach and the outlines of the white waves meeting the shore. He licked his lips and tucked his hair behind his ear, heart suddenly racing. Everything inside of him itched to just get up. 

No more pretending. 

"Wait! Lance!" Keith fumbled to the shop door where the other boy had just mounted his bike. 

"What is it?" 

Strands of Lance's chocolaty brown hair flared like flames influenced by the summer wind. The seldom-seen freckles on his forehead made a surprise appearance. Keith briefly lost his breath. 

"Let's uh--hang out...when you're done. I'm getting off at 4. It's...half pie day." 

"I like what you're thinking," the sunny boy winked. 

"And...do you wanna go to...the beach?" 

"The beach?" Lance's expression turned from thrilled to startled in a manner of milliseconds. 

"Yeah...I was thinking that I haven't been there in a long time and that's like your thing right? Swimming and crap?" 

Keith swallowed, his tongue feeling dry. 

"Listen, Keith--" 

"--We could even like, bring the food and eat it there that would be...fun." 

Keith wanted to die. Collapse. Right then and there. He balled up his hands into anxious fists. Lance's fearful expression made him want to vomit. 

I said too much, God, he knows, oh my God. 

"I don't really wanna swim--" 

"--Then we don't have to!" Keith squeaked, his voice reaching a tone that he didn't think was humanly possible. 

"Okay..." Lance said at last, now looking more confused than scared. 

"Okay! Uh... great!" 

"Alright...wanna meet back up here at 4:30?" 

"Sounds good." Keith plainly returned, steadying himself. 

He watched as the sunny boy biked into a right hand corner where he could no longer be seen. After checking his watch he sighed, feeling the longevity of the hours to come bearing down upon him. He took to the side of the building to grab the hose and water the ferns at the shop entrance. The water spewed out with a metallic scent. 

"Just a couple more hours." 

~*~ 

A couple minutes before he would have been too early, Lance rolled to a stop at the front of Altea Bay Flowers with his companion nowhere to be found. He peered inside of the shop, craning his neck just so that he could see inside. Kelli sat at the desk, twirling a strand of her hair while she flipped through the pages of a magazine. Lance pondered asking her if she knew where Keith had gone until he heard the familiar clanky sound of Keith's bike bumping over a pothole. The dark haired boy flashed a nervous, but excited smile as he shakily came to a shop with his tires squeaking against the sidewalk. 

"Are you ready?" Lance chirped as he rolled up his sleeves. He briefly checked over the contents in his milk crate which was full of a couple things that he had gathered from his trip home. 

"Just a sec." Keith said, then dismounted from his bike. 

He entered the flower shop as Lance waited outside, leaning in close to ask Kelli something to which she gave him a nod in return. He swiftly took one of the small white boxes from underneath the desk and a pair of scissors. In mere moments he was back at his bike shoving the box into his backpack before Lance could catch a glance of what it was. 

"What's in the box?" Lance said as he threw him a suspecting gaze. 

"You'll find out later bud." He jested, using Lance's colloquialism against him. 

"Hey! "Bud's" my thing!" 

"Guess I must have picked it up. Come on, let's get going before the dinner rush comes." Keith smirked. Lance's head spun trying to calculate where the previously shyer boy's confidence was coming from. 

As Keith crossed the street in front of him, Lance noticed the absence of his normal black hoodie--the one that had witnessed his near-death. It was a bit strange seeing him without it, however, it's absence wasn't unwelcome. Even though Lance thought that Keith's arms were a bit stark to look at, they were lean and muscled, a bit like his own. The flower-shop worker was quiet and reflective but the sharp curves and bends of his arms conveyed a power that he didn't often express. A salty smelling breeze blew between the two of them brushing up Keith's black t-shirt, revealing two dimples on the small of his back. 

Does everyone have those? Lance's mind wandered. 

The wind blew in once more as he searched for evidence of them again but found himself disappointed when the shirt stayed put. 

The bells hanging over the door chimed, causing Lance to snap his head up, breaking his previous investigation. 

"Lance! So good to see you!" 

Mrs. Seidou greeted the two of them at the door with arms open wide. She engulfed Lance in a hug and didn't hesitate to give Keith one too, causing him to hide his blushing face in his hand. 

"You didn't think I would pass up half-pie day would you?" 

The kind older woman beamed accentuating the wrinkles on her face circling her smiling eyes and mouth. 

"Of course not! I've got a blueberry just for you! But dear, I hope you'll try something other than a salad today..." 

"A salad?" Keith questioned, his head inquisitively tilted. 

Lance's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Since dating Allura all of his meals at Seidou's had transitioned to different types of salads. 

"Nope!" He hurriedly returned, giving her a reassuring nod. "Not today, I'm uh...not in a salad mood today." 

"Wonderful, I'll make you anything you like! Even if it's not on the menu." Mrs. Seidou slyly nudged him. 

"Mrs. S: you're the best! Keith and I are actually taking it to-go; we're headed to the beach." 

"Ah the beach! I heard that its supposed to be a beautiful evening tonight, not a cloud in the sky, and its a full moon!" 

"Tell that to my friend here," Lance hooked his arm around Keith's shoulders and pulled him in tight to playfully wrestle him. "I think he's a vampire so sounds like the perfect night for him." 

"Lance, shut up." Keith growled as he wiggled away and pushed messy strands of black hair from his pink face. 

Mrs. Seidou sweetly laughed. "So, what'll it be?" 

~*~ 

The two boys walked side by side to the beachfront where they locked up their bikes to the burning hot metal of the bike racks. Below them the concrete sidewalk was riddled with smears of sand. They took their backpacks and swung over their shoulders before they stepped into the sand with their shoes in hand. Keith immediately noticed how warm it was when it met the skin of his feet. It was a sensation that he had not felt in a long time. He felt a childlike sense of glee when his feet squished into the sand with every footstep and the soft grains found their way around his toes. Ahead of him, Lance took careful steps too, his eyes glued to the ground. 

"Lance! Be careful!" 

A toddler in a sopping wet bathing suit ran towards him, had he not noticed, she would have been on a direct collision course with Lance's shins. 

He swiftly got out of her way, then turned back to look at Keith with a troubled and stormy look clouding his eyes. 

"Don't you think it's a little crowded?" His raised voice ran above the happy chatter of the beach-goers. 

"It'll be dinnertime soon and they'll start leaving!" 

"I'll find us a spot." He said then turned back and quickening his pace. 

As they wove through the crowns of people and the maze of towels and umbrellas Keith wished that he could take Lance's hand and lead him though it. The sunny boy's worried look made him feel unsettled. He came to the conclusion that he didn't like it when it appeared like Lance's light had been dampened. 

Maybe he knows. Is he uncomfortable? Am I making him uncomfortable? 

Lance found an empty spot in the sand farther down the beach nearly at the point where the public beached turned into private. A few meters away from them the sand turned into rock; here the water met the slick black rocks with angry collisions causing the fat drops of sea splash to scatter when they met them. 

"What are we doing so far down? There were more spots farther up..." 

"There's less people over here, and it's more...secluded." 

"Secluded?" 

"Yeah, less people will see us." Lance nodded the statement away and threw his bag down.

"You don't want people seeing us?" 

"No--uh--yes, its not that--" 

"Lance, what's going on, you've been acting weird ever since we got here--" 

"--Nothing's going on! I just don't want them to see us--I mean, see me..." 

Lance cringed and took to taking items from his backpack instead. As if in order, he took out a beach towel, a small speaker, a few cans of soda, a couple containers of fresh fruit (courtesy of Mrs Seidou) and his Polaroid camera.

"What's that for?" 

"What does it look like?" He waved it in the air for effect. "Pictures?" 

"Ah." 

Keith's heart wouldn't quit. He knelt by his backpack and took several deep breaths to steady himself but his body wouldn't listen. Everything about the moment seemed too good to be true. It was as if one of his daydreams were coming true but it was reeling by a million miles a minute. Once again, the pang of pain echoed in his chest, the one that he decided to call longing. 

He took his own towel out and spread it next to Lance's not too far away, but not too close. His eye caught the small box in his backpack which he had momentarily forgotten about. He licked his drying lips trying to devise a plan for when it would be best for him to reveal it. Next to him the other boy was setting up their food. He had taken off his delivery jacket uncovering his sky blue shirt once more. The fabric bellowed in breeze as it had done before. His freckled and tanned arms set to work on opening containers and sorting bamboo silverware from his bag. 

How does he manage to look so beautiful when he's barely doing anything? 

"Here." 

He passed Keith his turkey sandwich and fries then dug into his juicy looking burger. With his first bite the expression on his face looked almost euphoric. 

"Mmm! Oh how I've missed you." Lance said with a mouth full of food. He hungrily took a couple more bites. 

Keith chuckled and took a few more bites of his own. It was terribly entertaining to watch Lance exaggeratedly eat his dinner as if it was his last. He buried his toes deeper into the sand until he couldn't see them anymore. The crash of waves made up the background music to their meal as they met the shore in a noticeable rhythmic pattern that never ceased. The smell of the seaweed wafted up their noses with the coming and receding waves that turned the sand from light to dark. 

The two boys sat side by side in silence while they ate, Keith's eyes fixed on the expanse of the ocean in front of them. The cerulean color of the sea glistened and sparked under the sun's rays. Keith though to himself that sometimes Lance's eyes could look like that under the sun too. He looked to the sunny boy and found him still immersed in the last bits of his food. 

"Wanna eat the pie now?" Keith suggested. 

"Sure." 

The two of them demolished the half of the pie, thinking nothing of slices while they attacked it with their forks. Keith was already done with his quarter when he realized that his mouth and lips and been undoubtedly stained from the berries. He quickly gulped down some water and swished it in his mouth to dilute it. 

"I wanna get some shells, you coming with?" 

Keith looked up to the other boy who had suddenly stood up.

"Alright." 

Keith walked next to Lance as they padded down the damp sand of the shore, both of their eyes fixed on the little white specks that were scattered around. Saying nothing, they simply walked on, only stopping every once and a while to pick up a shell that looked interesting. Something about it all seemed eerily familiar, leading Keith to recall their walk in Arus woods. Sea breeze whipped against them, making Keith's long hair revolt. He tied half of it up, not bothering to tame it all. Ahead of him Lance called his name. 

"Yo! Keith! Check this one out!" He excitedly turned, then stopped with his eyes wide. 

"What is it?" 

"Uh--nothing, I just haven't seen you do your hair like that before." 

"Yeah...it was just getting in my face a bit...it looks kinda weird I know--" He reached for the rubber band holding it all together. 

"--Wait stop!" 

"What?" Keith's hand receded. 

"It...doesn't look weird." 

Keith's lips formed a tiny "oh" then slowly turned upwards in a smile. 

"Just uh...come over here I found a cool one." 

In his hand he presented Keith with a small spiraling white shell that ended in a point. The curves and ridges were perfectly well defined. 

"Check this out." Lance turned the shell right and left, and the white color turned into a pale pearlescent pink. "Cool right?" 

Keith took it in his own hand and examined it. 

"Oh! Hold it right there." 

"What?" 

Lance took his Polaroid camera from the strap it hung on and he snapped a picture of the shell resting in Keith's hand. It made a little whirring sound when the picture slipped out. 

"We'll see it in a minute." 

"You really like this one?"

"Yeah." Lance reached out. 

Keith hurriedly shoved it in his pocket. 

"Then I'll hold onto it for you. Something tells me that you're prone to losing things." 

"Wait just a sec--" 

"I've already decided. I'll give it back to you before we leave." 

"Fine!" Lance harrumphed and set back on his mission of finding shells. 

Once he turned around, Keith ran his finger over the rough ridges in his pocket, grinning to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 --->


	12. Hibiscus

The sun lowered in the the evening sky with an explosion of warm colors emanating from it, fading from yellow to dark orange to pink to lilac and darkening blue. The smear of colors reflected upon the water; the line where sea and sky met became blurred. The two boys sat side by side, chewing on watermelon and grapes. This time, Lance looked out, but his gaze was hesitant. 

"You still haven't tell me what's going on." 

"What do you mean?" 

"What is it about being here that's making you act like this? You're usually not so...quiet? Is it...me?" 

Lance turned to give him a look of disbelief. "What? No." 

"Then...?" 

The sunny boy sighed, then hugged his knees to himself. 

"The last time that I was here, I almost died." 

"Lance, you're not being dramatic or something are you?" 

"No really, I literally almost died. I told you about this already!" 

"I really don't think you did--"

"Well, the last time I was here I was surfing and something happened...before I knew it everything was upside down, I was under the water and I couldn't get back up, even though I know what do do when that happens, I just couldn't...move. It was...I just can't bring myself to get back out there." 

Lance let his vision raise to the waves meeting the shore. The smell of the ocean was just enough for him to remember the taste in his mouth and feel weightless and powerless once more. He shivered. 

"Allura saved me that day. If she hadn't, I don't know what would have happened. She keeps asking me to come out here again but I can't let her know that I can't--" 

"--Why not?" 

"Because, I don't know...it's embarrassing? I don't want her to see me scared like that." 

"What's wrong with being scared?" 

"Hey, I didn't ask you to psychoanalyze me." 

Keith threw his hands up in defeat. "That wasn't my intention." 

"Whatever." Lance shrugged, his gaze moving down again. 

Not like you'd understand. 

"It's not whatever." Keith said as he stood. "Let's go." 

"What??" Panic set into Lance. 

"Yeah, let's go, we don't have to fully get out there." 

"Keith, I--" 

"Are you coming or not?...Bud?" Keith cackled. 

"This isn't a joke!" 

"Sorry sorry, but how else are you gonna get over this?" 

"How about I don't!" Lance groaned, then took shaky steps towards Keith and the shore. "I'm gonna kill you Flower Crown." He said, his words coated with fear and poison. 

"Come on! Listen, I promise that I'll make sure that nothing happens to you." 

Lance scoffed towards the other boy's general direction then cuffed up his pants legs to just under his knees. He followed Keith who had taken a couple steps into the water to where it barely went higher than the middle of his shins. 

"It's not so bad!" Keith called over the sound of the wave arriving at the shore. He still stood a couple paces in front of Lance. A proud looking smile was painted over his face while Lance's head was focused down on each step that he took. 

The feeling of the water against his skin made him hyper-aware of everything that was around him: his feet sinking in the wet sand, disappearing as he went deeper, the color of the water becoming darker and the white noise of the waves swelling, becoming louder and louder. Lance's breaths became heavy and shallow while his heart felt as if it was beating in his throat. 

Oh God. Not again. 

"Keith wait! Don't go any further, I can't--" 

"Yes you can! Meet me right..." He took a few more steps backwards, now a little over his knees. "...here! Careful, it dips a bit." 

"This is as far as I want to go!" 

"Lance! It's just up to your knees, nothing is gonna happen! But if something does I'm right here." 

He gave Keith a nervous nod and scooted onward, eyes still down. 

"You're not helping yourself by looking down, just--look at me!" 

A wave swept past him forcefully, causing his anxiety to rise.

"Did you hear me?!" 

Lance's head rose to see Keith standing with the brilliance of the sunset behind him. The glow of the setting sun at the horizon made it appear as if he was shrouded with an ethereal glow. The outline of his body was framed in golden light. 

All of the air in Lance's lungs escaped. 

Wow. 

"Just a couple more steps!" 

Lance strode towards Keith with his feet moving freely without his mind to tell them to stop. He took another step stumbling as he went down the bank that dropped. 

"I said be careful." Keith said, reaching out to grab his arm to keep him from falling. 

His hand's warm. 

"Uh--thanks." 

He regained his composure and stood next to his companion with his eyes finally lifting to the sea. Keith's hand fell from where it had wrapped around his arm. The feeling of his grip lingered on Lance's arm. 

"Want to go any further?" 

"No. This is good for now." 

"Next time." Keith said as the corners of his mouth turned up. 

"Next time?"

"Let's go back to the shore and dry off." 

When they two of them reached the beach, Lance felt as if he could finally breathe again. He knelt down with his hands resting on his knees for a moment on the shore and let his toes wiggle reassuringly into the dry sand by their towels. Thankful breaths escaped past his lips. 

"I think we need to document this moment." Keith said as he swooped up the Polaroid camera. 

Lance flashed him an exasperated look. 

"Just the one!" 

"Fine." 

"Go stand by shore, by the water." 

Keith held up the camera as Lance did as he was told. The flash of the light stained his eyes for a couple seconds. 

"Give it to me, I'm going to take one of you too." 

"O-of me?" 

"What did I just say? Stand with your back to the water." 

Lance peered through the viewfinder to place Lance in the little square. The sunset didn't look the same as it had before, but it was close enough. Click. 

Keith grabbed it as it came out. 

"You didn't make me look stupid did you?" 

The sunny boy snatched it away. 

"I'm holding onto it--so you don't loose it."

Keith shrugged and flicked the Polaroid of Lance that was slowly appearing. 

"Then I'm holding on to this one...so you don't loose it." 

~*~ 

For a couple more hours the two boys sat and talked while the watched as the sun finally disappear from the sky for the moon to take over full and white. The twinkling of stars emerged as well scattering the dark blue landscape in irregular patterns. The light from the downtown area softly wafted over to them until it was snuffed out by the sea. Keith couldn't see all too well but Lance had turned out his phone flashlight to light up their area a little. Lance had been playing his favorite songs for him, telling short stories behind them like where he had heard them for the first time, or if his dad had introduced him to the song. Each song was different and fascinating, as well as every story. 

With the strum of guitar, Lance gasped. 

"This song is one of my favorites! Listen..." He turned up the volume. 

The crooning of the singers mixed with the softening hush of the waves. 

"It's the Beatles. It's called Here, There and Everywhere. My dad's a big Beatles guy. He taught Veronica to play the guitar part a long time ago. Over the summers he would play this song and we would all sing along." he sighed. "It's about a girl, but I think that it can mean a few different things: they talk about how loving someone is wanting to be around them everywhere, that's what makes you complete and if you've got that, then you don't have to worry. It's kind of like a promise too, saying that you'll be there no matter what. I kind of feel like that with my family, I don't know who I would be if I didn't have them, everything I do is for them." 

They sat in silence listening as the song finished. Keith's head swam with thoughts and emotions that came crashing together without restraint. Somehow he felt tears sting in his eyes. 

It must be so nice to have all that. A family; to feel like that. 

He blinked them back. 

"Still, it is a love song. Best I've heard. I hope that one day I can feel that same way for someone." All traces of anxiety that Lance had held before melted away. Listening to his favorite song, he had never looked calmer. 

Keith reached into his backpack and took out the white box. He opened the lid revealing a single Hibiscus flower. Lance turned to watch him take it out and briefly twirl it. 

"This is uh...for you." 

With shaking fingers, he tucked the flower behind the other boy's ear then rubbed the petals as he positioned it. 

"Oh, thanks." Lance's eyes fluttered around, but didn't land upon the boy across from him. 

Even though he was only illuminated by the light coming from the flashlight, seeing him like this made Keith feel dizzy. 

"I bet I look super cute right?" Lance sat up then flashed is regular cocky smile. 

The dark haired boy breathed out his words, "It suits you." 

Keith took a deep breath as he felt his chest tighten up. His heart beat in his ears with a deafening rhythm. 

"Lance I like you." 

"You like me?" 

Keith nodded as his knees began to tremble. 

~*~ 

"We said that we be ourselves, and you told me that I should--" 

"--I didn't mean tell me." 

Lance's ear's felt red hot with anger or embarrassment, he couldn't tell. 

"Keith, what are you doing?!"

"What am I doing? Telling the truth is what I'm doing. I can't keep lying to you and myself, I know that we're friends but--" 

"Then why are you telling me this?? Wha-what did you think you would get out of telling me this?" 

Lance's chest rose and fell with a confusion that felt like it was suffocating him. His head felt as if it was throbbing as he tried to make sense of Keith's expression which was looking more and more fearful. 

"I can't keep it in anymore!! I'm loosing my mind Lance and you aren't really making it any easier, I guess I thought if I said something maybe you would say something back." he quickly licked his lips. "Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? Inviting me to things, hanging out when you have never looked my way and you just keep coming back! An-and don't get me started on her, can't you see how unhappy she makes you--" 

"So we're talking about my girlfriend now? Is that what this is? Are you jealous of the time that I spend with her and not with you? She's my girlfriend Keith what the hell do you expect? The world doesn't revolve around you you know!" 

"Stop fucking twisting my words!" 

Lance stood up and paced in the sand. He rubbed his temples with his index fingers to the tune of Keith's angry inhales below him. He whipped back around. 

"Did you think that by telling me that you like me that I would say that I like you back?" 

Keith stammered, "I-I don't know Lance, actually I don't know why I fucking said anything. This is exactly what I thought could happen--" 

"Then let's forget it!" 

"No." Keith stood up to face Lance. 

"My feelings for you aside, as your friend, I can tell that it's hard for you to be with her Lance, she can't see you for who you are; how I see you, I can tell that it's exhausting for you and you don't deserve that...you shouldn't have to be scared. It's okay to leave--" 

"No! Shit, it's not, I'm supposed to be with her, she-she likes me and no one has ever liked me like that." 

"Lance?" Keith took a couple steps closer. "That's not true. The value that others place upon you isn't what makes up your worth. Please listen." His expression softened as he took another step. He looked up slightly to the boy who was a couple inches taller than him. 

Lance's whole body trembled in disbelief as he heard Keith's words softly trying to calm him down. He wanted to revolt, to scream, but his muscles felt weak and he felt terribly heavy. He felt like collapsing. For a moment he took a breath in, deep and long, along with it he smelled something that he had before. 

"Are you listening to what I'm saying?" 

Lance nodded. 

"Look, I don't care if you hate me for having a crush on you, you don't ever have to see me again if you don't want to. But please, stop doing this to yourself." 

"What?" 

"I know what I've done by saying what I did."

"No, Keith, that's-not it, stop--" 

The wind from the sea forcefully rushed past them and whipped through Keith's hair. It danced and sprawled all over his face but he didn't seem to care. While he looked like he was slowly shattering the smallest hopeful smile began to form on the corners of his mouth. 

"You'll think about what I said?" 

Before Lance could respond, Keith had turned around to begin packing up his things to leave. 

"Stop! What are you doing?" 

"I'm leaving." 

Lance reached out and grabbed Keith's arm with an iron grip. "I said. Stop." 

The other turned without Lance's arm letting go. Lance's head rang with millions of questions all clambering together, cursing at him and yelling into his ears. He tightly shut his eyes as he silenced them. 

Don't go. Don't go. Don't go. 

"Keith wait... sometimes I get these thoughts, I don't know what they are, they don't make sense I shouldn't-I shouldn't..." 

He opened his eyes to see his hand still tightly holding on to the pale flesh of Keith's arm. He stared at it for a moment as he felt the warmth sink into his own skin. He then looked to the other boy standing across from him giving him that same look. That damn look. Lance felt himself slip away like he had fallen so deep into himself that his body had become a shell of what he once was. The only thing that mattered was that tiny bit warmth consuming him as the rest of his body fought the freezing cold. He took one last breath like it was his last before his head fell underwater. 

He grabbed Keith's shoulder and pulled him closer; hard. His hand moved upwards to find the back of Keith's neck where he pulled again colliding his lips with the other boy's in a way that felt desperate and terrified. His eyes quickly shut as he moved his mouth over and over the other's sloppily. His mind couldn't take notice of the fact that the other boy was kissing back with as much severity as he was. Upon the tip of his thumb he felt the wetness of tear; his or the other's he couldn't know. Both of them took in breaths hastily in and out of their noses with cool air. 

One buzzing thought emerged. Why did you do that? 

Lance's hand fell dead from Keith's arm and circled into a fist. 

He punched Keith with all his might. 

~*~ 

Keith tasted blood in his mouth. He had landed in the sand backwards. It had all happened so fast he was still reeling from he sensation of having Lance on his lips. His cheek ached with pain and his vision had blurred making the boy standing above him seem blurry. The world spun around him erratically melting together. Lance's loud sobs echoed off the stone walls a few steps from them. Keith couldn't organize his thoughts into a way that made sense; anger and exhilaration became hard to tell apart. 

"What the fuck Lance." 

Keith wiped some blood that had began to leak onto his lips. The waves crashing into the shore now somehow sounded angrier. 

"I-I just, I don't know--" 

He rose again, stumbling to the babbling boy who was running his hands through his hair. Keith swallowed the furious bile that stung in his throat once he saw Lance spiraling. 

I know what that feels like. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." 

"Are you done?" Keith plainly said, which earned a nod in response. 

Lance sheepishly dried his face with the palms of his hands and sniffled. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I did...I'm sorry." 

"Don't ever do that again." 

Keith's heart ached to hold the boy close to him, but was fearful for what another touch might mean. 

"I won't, I promise." 

The two of them stood each caught up in their own cyclone of questions.

"Are we talking about the punch or...?" 

The dark haired boy sighed, greedily playing back the kiss in his mind. 

No, God, I want to kiss you so much more. 

"Just don't do anything stupid that you'll regret. Come on, lets just get out of here." 

Lance took in a shaky inhale before taking a step forward. "What I was trying to say before. I get these thoughts. Little things; I don't know why I do. They sometimes come and go in passing but..." he looked up to the wide web of stars across the sky. "I think about you Keith." 

"You think about me?" 

"And I think I've thought about doing...that...fuck, kissing you. Before. That day in your room. There's something about you that makes me think about you, like sometimes when you're not there." 

Anger seeped back into exhilaration and Keith's heartbeats quickened like they had around the sunny boy so many times before. Even though Lance didn't know how to say it, Keith knew exactly what he meant. 

"And I don't ever want to hurt you again, it's just...what I just did, it felt...different; good. But I-I don't know--" his tone became more and more hesitant. "I'm supposed to like her, I'm supposed to be with her--" 

"--Lance, I think about you too." 

Their eyes locked, with words unspoken and spoken filling the air and finally meeting in the middle 

Suddenly he had taken the steps between them to vanquish almost all the space that held them apart. Keith hadn't realized how close they had gotten to the water. He watched as his toes sunk deeper into the wet sand disappearing slowly, then all at once. He wondered what it would be like if the earth swallowed him up and took him in farther and farther away from where he stood. It didn't seem all that unrealistic. Softly the waves lapped against the shore, their white and foamy fingers lacing around his ankles.

"There's nothing to be scared of." he whispered to the other boy. 

This time slowly they came together, more sure of themselves when their lips touched, moving over each other with a carefulness as if both were trying to hold on to the other before they would be torn apart. Keith had grabbed onto one of Lance's shoulders with the other cupping his face then wove his fingers through that chocolate brown hair he had longed to feel. It was the softest thing that he had ever felt, and it slightly tickled the spaces between his fingers. Lance's fingers too found their way in and around the long locks of his own hair. He wantonly ran his lips over Lance's then moved them to his cheek and under his jaw finally lightly placing kisses on his neck in ways that he had only ever dreamed of before. He quickly went back to the other boy's lips pouring out every bit of longing and affection that he had stored away. 

"Don't go." Lance had breathed between kisses. 

On the lips of the other boy Keith smiled, "Don't you go either."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I get into the other stuff, a lot of you probably know about what is happening in North America right now and I think that this is something that really needs to be discussed. I personally believe that we all have a responsibility to not turn a blind eye to the terrible injustices of the world and use our privileges to lift up the voices of others, educate ourselves on racism and call it out wherever we encounter it. This link: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co has a bunch of resources and ways for you to help take action to support BIPOC folx right now and always. 
> 
> Lemme tell you guys, Keith REALLY likes this boi, previously, Keith had wished that Lance would find love even if it wasn't him because he just wants him to be happy! He knew that telling him about his feelings he could jeopardize their whole relationship, b u t he also wanted to follow his heart and say something even if it meant Lance would say it back or it meant it was the first step towards moving on :') 
> 
> Lol these chapters took me a loooooong time to write. Back when I started planning this fic I knew that I wanted the confession scene to look like so I tried to add in lots of blurbs from those original plans which ended up making this part really phat haha so that's why I made it a 2 part thing. 
> 
> A few of the scenes in these chapters are inspired by fanart by the amazing Kiilea! Please check out their Tumblr! https://kiilea.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> Also Happy Pride Month! Writing about Keith and Lance is something that is really special to me and it makes me so so happy reading the stories that you guys write about them too! In a way, writing about them lets me tell my own story too since a lot of the things that they have felt I have too. I'm ~pan~ and this is my first time saying it on the internet <3 I'm sorta out sorta in but everyday I'm just trying to be myself :)
> 
> If you've read this far thank you so so much! 
> 
> Next time: Lance and Keith figure out who they are to each other while Lance tries to find what to say to Allura.


	13. Queen Anne's Lace

Lance woke up in a cold sweat. The ceiling fan above him that lightly spun whirred calmly creating the familiar noise that he could never fall asleep without. His phone was hot underneath him while the soft sound of music murmured though the earbuds that had fallen out of his ears. 

12:52 am: You probably fell asleep. Sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow. 

1:04 am: Lance, what's going on? Please call me, I'm--

Lance clicked off his phone and groaned while he reached over to plug it in. He squinted at the alarm clock on his nightstand which read 4:37 am. He took in a deep inhale of the cool air from the fan. Birds outside of his window had just begun their morning songs and whistled varying tunes back and fourth to each other. 

"It's too damn early," he said to the empty room. 

In his sweat he felt disgusting. The past couple of days he had been sleeping terribly regardless of the fact that he had been going to bed exhausted. For the past week his house and only been a place for the activity of sleeping and eating the occasional meal. Somehow it felt like being away from that place was much easier. The secrecy of everything that was going on was much better kept when the rest of his family members weren't bombarding his every movement. Now most days and nights he spent with his friends and at Keith's house where he felt like he could actually breathe. 

Keith's black hoodie hung from his bedpost were it had been living for the past couple days. Lance had been given it to keep him warm again on his bike ride home. His delivery jacket could be found on the bedpost in Keith's room as well. He lazily got up and took it in his hands breathing in a deep inhale of it's scent: a myriad of floral aromas, just like Keith. He let the scent fill up his nostrils before he hugged it to himself and collapsed back into bed. The action felt a bit silly but it was just enough to calm him down back to sleep. 

~*~ 

"Keith? You're doing it again..." 

"Wha-what? Doing what? What am I doing?" 

Kelli chuckled as she made her way around the shop sorting the newest delivery of flowers into their new homes. 

"Did you not hear what I just said? We've got that wedding order so I need you to do a bit of overtime alright? I was talking to the bride this morning and everything needs to be all set by Thursday. I've got an extra shipment coming in just for the arrangements. Veronica's coming in to help tomorrow too." 

Keith's mind was felt fuzzy as he tried to listen to his boss. His eyes wandered to the bouquet of multi-colored carnations to his left. 

He should be here by now. 

"--We're making the bridal bouquet too but you should leave that one to me, the bride was very specific, I need some eucalyptus...hey!" she snapped her fingers. "You still listening?" 

Keith jumped. "yES!" he squeaked. 

"I'm talking about extra pay here." 

"I know. I know. Sorry. Got it." 

"So back to what I was saying, we need centerpieces for the tables, only ten of them though since this is kind of a small gig--" 

"--AM I LATE?" 

The sunny boy practically tripped into the shop after swinging the door open with such force he could have almost thrown it off it's hinges. His chest threw itself up and down with each exasperated breath he took. His sea blue eyes looked from Kelli to Keith who both were motionless after his his grand entrance. Keith felt like he was melting a little when he saw him disheveled like that. 

Kelli checked her watch. "Not yet you're not. Hurry it up before I get another angry call." 

"Yes ma'am!" He bellowed with valor and snatched the bouquet away without giving a second glance to the boy at the desk. 

Keith shrunk in his seat a little. He hated that every interaction he had with the other boy since the beach had to be carried out in a private place far from other people. They hadn't talked really about what they were doing, they just did it. Lance hadn't talked to or seen Allura for a week since that one night and he seldom said anything about talking to her soon. Everything had changed between the two of them, but it still made Keith feel sick when he thought about what it meant for Allura. There were times when he loathed himself for feeling happy, but it all seemed to go away when it was just the two of him in his room, playing video games, in his kitchen eating snacks; just being alone together was enough to make the rest of the world seem nonexistent. 

"I'll be back!" Lance called as he closed the shop door. 

"So...you gonna ask him to go with you?" 

"Go with me to what?" 

"We got an invite to the wedding! The bride and I go way back... And you know you have to bring a date to a wedding right?..." Kelli slyly grinned. 

"Why would I do that? We're just friends..." his hand wandered to scratch the back of his head. 

"I don't think that "friends" look at each other like that when they enter a room. I'm not dumb Keith, and I certainly don't judge. Just ask my girlfriend! I'll be taking her to the wedding too." the owner of the flower shop's gaze lifted up lovingly as she imagined her partner. 

"Girlfriend?!"

"Help me out with the watering and we can lock up. You can leave once Lance gets back. God, I love holidays." 

Keith gave her a curt nod and slid off of his stool. His phone buzzed where it rested on the desk. 

12:32pm: Won't be at the house tonight. You shouldn't be either 

Once he saw the text from his cousin a thankful smile crept across Keith's face. He knew exactly where he was going to be tonight. 

"Be here at 8am sharp tomorrow okay? We've got a lot of work to do." 

"No problem. I'll see you then." 

The keys in Kelli's hand jingled as she jammed them in door's lock. 

"Have fun tonight!" 

"Thanks." Keith's voice trembled; wondering about what "fun" would really mean for that night. Behind him, the chime of Lance's bicycle bell rang loud and clear. 

"On time and I got tipped extra!" Lance's crazed eyes glistened once he pulled up to meet the raven-haired boy at the curb who was silently keeping it to himself how breathtaking the other boy was. 

Keith stood up straighter fixing his face into stoic lines. "I'm surprised." 

"You look it." the other boy joked before swinging his arm over the shoulder of Keith. "You guys locking up now?" 

"Lance!" he growled under his voice, face red hot, the simple motion meant something different now. 

"I totally forgot! It's the fourth! You should come see the fireworks with Hunk and Pidge and I tonight, it's a tradition!" 

Keith wiggled out from under Lance's arm although he didn't really want to. 

"You want me to come?" 

"Duh! You're a part of us now!" 

"...Of us?" 

"The gang! My friends are your friends. It only makes sense." 

"Why?" 

"Ahh I dunno, because it does! Come on lets get some food or something." He marched onward with his bike in tow. "Feeling like tortas?" 

"Wait Lance." he grabbed the back of his loosely clinging t-shirt. 

City volunteers in neon yellow vests passed them with garbage bags and buckets. Earlier in the morning the Fourth of July parade had taken place and they were cleaning up stray pieces of candy and confetti that had gathered on the edges of the street. Little waves of heat emanated off of the black pavement as they cleaned. Parade goer's still populated the downtown area creating a sense of excitement that still lingered in the air. 

Lance turned to let his eyes expectantly demand an answer. 

"I was thinking that we could hang at my place; after the fireworks...only if you want to," he hurriedly added. 

Lance teasingly held his eyes up as if in consideration of the idea. "Yeah I think I should be free later." 

His smirk was met with a blushing Keith who turned his head away so only the reflective windows of the shops they passed could see. 

"Stop doing that." he croaked. 

"Doing what?" 

"You know what." 

"I don't know what you're talking about bud, here--" He pulled Keith's crumpled black hoodie from the bottom of his milk crate. "I expect to get mine back later. Although something tells me that I won't be needing it later." He grinned and exaggeratedly wiped sweat from his brow. "I have a feeling that tonight is gonna be pretty warm." 

"Stop it." Keith threw his head back. 

"Still don't know what you're talking about." Lance chuckled. 

~*~ 

Keith's Converse-covered feet bounced up and down underneath him as he took the last few bites of his torta. It was delicious as always. The two boys sat at their usual bench by the copper fountain in The Alley. It was also bustling as always. Around the string lights that lined the square, garlands bearing dozens of American flags whipped in the wind. Each of the businesses around the Alley had patriotic looking decorations adorning their windows along with orange poppies--a type of town specific pride practiced during the holiday. The two boys sat close enough as to where their shoulders would brush up against each other now and then but not too close enough. 

Lance lapped up the spare bits of carne asada that had fallen out of his sandwich. Keith had noticed how it seemed that when the two of them ate together meat often seemed to be the main event for the sunny boy. He never questioned anything of it, and more so regarded it as some sort of quirk that the boy had. After Lance had finished he wrapped up his foil and stood up with a stretch. 

"Ahh that was amazing, Tio Mateo never disappoints." 

"That's for sure." Keith swiftly took the foil from the other boy's hand to throw it away. 

"Thanks." 

Lance's phone erupted with sound from his pocket playing a sci-fi ringtone. Keith breathed out a laugh to himself. 

Figures, space boy. 

"Who is it?" He leaned in closer to see just enough. 

Lance almost immediately silenced it. 

"Doesn't matter, I'll call them back later." 

"...You mean you'll really call her back later?" 

"Let's get back to the bikes. I gotta be home for dinner later with my family before the fireworks." 

Lance's steps quickened and Keith jogged a little to keep up. 

"Lance?" 

"I said I'll call her back later! I'll deal with it later, alright?!" 

Keith shrunk under the weight of Lance's snapping words. "Okay. Later." 

"Come over to my place at 8:30, Hunk is gonna pick us up; you can lock up your bike at my house." 

"I'll be there." His hand that was resting at his side brushed up against the other boy's hand; there was nothing more that he wanted to do than hold it, but instead drew it back.

~*~ 

The sun set beside him as Keith pedaled to Lance's home on the northern side of town. When he had passed the downtown area again it had come to life once more. As he wheeled through groups of families whizzed past him holding their folding chairs and beach towels. Altea Bay was separated by The Hill which climbed upwards on the west side and the beach and ocean which hugged the land on the east. The way in which the topography worked, the fireworks could be seen from almost anywhere. Most people liked to go to the beach to watch them; it just felt the most festive. 

Keith soon reached the neighborhoods to the north which were an maze-like continuum of houses that all looked slightly similar and ascended all the way up The Hill to the poppy fields. His bike smoothly lead him through the curves of the turns just as he had remembered the drive to Lance's home in Pidge's car. It was amazing how long ago it all had felt. Keith wondered if he would ever enter Lance's house again. Kids running with sparklers smeared glowing light into the air when he approached the home stored in his memory. He could hear the giggling of children coming from the backyard mixing with the sound of the evening waves behind Lance's home. 

"I told you that was your last s'more! Thomas! Mia!" An exasperated woman called from the back breaking the giggling of the children. She had a beautiful accent which Keith noted sounded a bit like the accent that Lance had when he talked to Tio Mateo. 

"Ma! I can't find the pitcher for the lemonade!" Keith recognized Veronica's voice. 

Lance's mother groaned in frustration. "Do I have to do everything myself?!" 

Keith dismounted from his bike and propped it up against their front porch before knocking on the the door. The action somehow sent his heart into a nervous mess. The prospect of "meeting" Lance's family worried him; even if they didn't have a clue about what was going on between the two of them. 

A taller looking boy answered the door looking dazed. He wore the same facial features as Lance and looked to be about four years older than him or so. His rusty brown hair was shoulder length and framed the sides of his grin that looked almost identical to the one that Lance threw around all the time. 

Must be where you learned it from. 

"Oh yeah. Lance said you would be coming." the older boy chewed a toothpick. 

"Luis?" Lance's head popped out from a corner followed by the rest of his body that came slipping on the hardwood floor at a lightning quick pace. "Keith! You're here! I've got it Luis, I'm heading out now." He tripped while hopping on one foot to put a shoe on the other. 

The two boys watched as Lance threw himself together. Awkward eye contact was made between Keith and Luis as neither of them knew what to do while waiting. 

"I'll probably be back later. Cover for me?" 

Luis rolled his eyes. "But you still haven't made up for when I did that for you last ti--" 

"--Hey isn't your buddy Tripp coming over after they leave? I assume you don't want mom knowing what you do guys do in the garage. You know, it really reeks in there, the skunk excuse only works for the first couple times--" 

"--I get it! I'll do it." 

"Thanks bro." Lance winked and gave his brother a salute. "Hunk should be here any minute." He grabbed Keith by the arm, leading him off of the porch. Even though it was the smallest bit of contact, Keith couldn't help but smile feeling Lance's warm hand. 

Lance disappeared with Keith's bike for a moment then came back sprinting with thin pieces of plastic in his hands. 

"Hurry! Put these in your pockets! It won't take long until they know that they're missing." 

Keith watched in confusion as Lance slid them into his waistband, one of them making a cracking sound and illuminating bright green. The sunny boy groaned. 

"So much for saving them." he took it in his hand and cracked it all the way up and down. "Here you take this one." He forcefully grabbed the other boy's arm and pulled his wrist towards himself where he wrapped the glow-stick around it and connected it with another plastic piece. 

So cute, Keith thought to himself. 

The backyard erupted in whines with the voices of two little kids. 

"You get five and I get five that's what mommy said!" 

"I did take five look! One, two, three, four, five!!!" 

"Look Hunk's here!" Lance hurriedly waved down his friend and slid into the front seat like had had just robbed the bank and Hunk was his getaway driver. 

~*~ 

"Up here!" Pidge excitedly hopped up and down on her roof to the three boys standing below

"Pidge! Please stop doing that!" Hunk babbled as he covered his eyes behind his fingers that were still spread out far enough for him to peek. 

A maniacal grin was plastered over his face as she jumped up and down again, throwing her hands in in air. Her choppy caramel colored hair flapped with her motions. 

"The door's unlocked downstairs. Head on up!" 

Sitting on top of Pidge's rooftop porch was like sitting on top of all of Altea Bay. The Holt's house was near to the crest of The Hill, making it one of the highest places in the whole town. Arus Woods, the poppy fields, the beach, the ocean, the flower shop and Keith's neighborhood could all be seen. 

"Wow." Keith whispered. 

From the corner of his eye Lance flashed a prideful grin. "Best seat in the house! Believe me, you haven't lived until you seen the fireworks from here." He lightly nudged the dark haired boy who still sat in awe unblinking. 

Hunk pulled out plastic containers from his backpack and presented the group with even more homemade snacks that smelled delicious. He opened one of them and the scent of vanilla and pure sugar rushed into the air around them. 

"Seidou family secret! Fourth of July sugar cookies!" his eyes twinkled when he showed them to his friends. 

"Hunk my man, I am so happy that we're friends." Lance snatched one up immediately. 

Pidge followed then tucked her knees up and held them to herself. Her eyes drooped in accordance to her words that were spoken slowly. "This is our last fireworks guys. Last summer. From now on our summers will be tied up in seasonal training." 

Beside her Hunk gently placed his arm around her shoulder making her look even smaller. Lance ruffled her hair. He felt a sickly sense of dread suddenly wash over him once he saw the usually confident girl seem uncommonly uncertain. Even though the three of them were still going to the same place they all silently knew that things would change. They were each going into different fields and would take different classes that would eventually lead them to different places where they couldn't follow each other anymore. None of them liked thinking about this summer being "the last" of anything. 

In the distance the whistle of the first firework echoed through the town and exploded into the sky with a thunderous boom showering the sky with sparks of golden yellow and red. The sparks fell in streaks creating the image of a willow tree. All four of their heads lifted up in attention with the worry the previously shrouding them fading in an instant. Lance turned to see the reaction of the boy sitting next to him who had fallen quiet. He didn't know what to make of his expression. He looked calm, as usual, but behind it there was something else that seemed to be holding him back; it was something that made him look like he was lost. 

Lance nudged his shoulder as he had done many other times before, it was a way of asking "are you okay?" without words. Keith's blue-grey eyes rested on him, startlingly beautiful but also terribly sad. 

Another firework made itself known then cracked in the sky with a sound so loud that it reverberated inside Lance's chest. The uneasy sensation of the boy sitting next to him made him feel like he couldn't sit still. His eyes wandered to Keith's slender hand were it rested next to him. 

Would he feel better if I just-- 

He had no second thoughts about reaching out. In the dark, none of them could see all too well. He slid his hand on top of Keith's and let it stay there, not daring to anything more that would bring more attention. His head was tilted up as he focused the best he could at the show. He could feel Keith's gaze resting upon him but didn't meet it. 

Above them three fireworks shot off at once and popped in the sky. The loud noise rang in his ears with a ferocity that felt as if it was pummeling him on the chest. The roar of angry waves foamed in his ears causing him to loose his breath where he sat. With both of their eyes to the sky, Keith turned his hand around to cup Lance's and laced his fingers lightly around the other's. 

"Everything is going to be okay." the other boy whispered. 

~*~ 

The drive back to Lance's house was quiet as the three boys sat with weariness stuck in their heads. Keith sat in the backseat with the AC lightly blowing on his forehead as Lance's head bobbed up and down in the front as sleep tried to overtake him. The radio in Hunk's car buzzed on a low volume as the light from the streetlights above wiped past them. It felt much later than a little past 11pm. 

Hunk pulled up the driveway to Lance's home only glowing from the light of a couple windows. Lance stretched and cracked his back before giving his friend a slap on the back. 

"Thanks bud. Keith's biking home from here." 

"No problem! Bike safe!" he turned to give the boy in the backseat a thumbs up. 

Keith returned with an awkwardly drawn smile. "Thanks for the ride." 

He followed Lance to his backyard which was bordered by a green wire fence. In the darkness Keith could still tell that it held a beautiful garden with raised beds bursting with ripe vegetables. Crowning beds there were several other flowers that caught Keith's attention. He wondered to himself if he would be able to see them again; identify them. 

"That's my mom's project. She gardens for cooking stuff, not really looking at them like someone I know." 

Keith hadn't noticed that he was staring or that the other boy had noticed. He was attacked by Lance's trademark grin. 

A small swing set was positioned towards the middle of the yard that looked well loved. It was simple and had a yellow plastic slide with two matching swings. The two teen aged boys standing next to it made it appear even smaller. 

"We've had that for I don't know how many years. Everyone in the family grew up with it. Now it's Thomas and Mia's." 

"It's...cute." 

"Until you've jumped off the swing and twisted your ankle." Lance chuckled lightly. "It's happened to all of us. That's the McClain's for ya. Stupidly brave. Most of us..." He rolled Keith his bike from where it was locked up on the fence and feigned a smile. "You ready to get going?" 

~*~ 

Lance followed Keith around the side of his house to his open backyard facing east. As far as the eye could see the sea stretched forwards into the horizon where it still looked like it could go on for forever. The color of the deep navy sky was reflected upon the water that shimmered under the white light of the waning moon. Lance's head tiled up to the sky as he tried to make out constellations. He spun around in little circles trying to make sense of them. 

"Did you want to sit out here for a while?" 

Keith stood in front of him looking back with the gentlest air about him that Lance had ever seen. He couldn't explain it, but there was something about him that made Lance want to tackle him nuzzle right up the peach-like softness of his face. He had tied up his hair on the bike ride back and the stray hairs that had found their way out swayed back and fourth by the breeze. 

How do you do that? It's like you don't even have to try. 

"I'd be down for that." Lance took a breath for the first time in what felt like a couple minutes. 

Keith nodded then unlocked the back door to turn on a light. 

"Just so we aren't completely in the dark." he toyed with the strings of his hoodie. 

"Ah." 

In the inside Lance felt like punching himself. His whole life he had been the most confident person that he knew but being around Keith made him feel like his confidence was back on training wheels. He often never had a clue about what to say or even if there was a right thing at all to say. In a way, being around Keith was often a guessing game since he was so quiet and chilled out all the time. At least, that's what he looked like. The only thing that Lance really did know what when he acted like a fool, Keith seemed to find that amusing. This was lucky for him considering that he was the best at making a fool of himself. Every time he would come stumbling late into the flower shop it would be hard for Keith to look away, and he liked it like that. 

His eyes wandered to a cluster of white snowflake-looking flowers with tall stems growing from the edge of the house. 

"What are those ones?" 

"Hemlock. I use them on my enemies. Extremely poisonous." Keith said deathly serious. 

Lance's jaw dropped. 

"I'm just kidding! You don't have to look like that." Keith doubled over in the most adorable sounding laughter. "It's Queen Anne's Lace. It just looks like Hemlock. Totally harmless. You can tell because of the mix of tripinnate leaves. It's literally in the carrot family." 

"Heh yeah, I totally knew that." Lance cringed. 

The dark-haired boy ushered him to come closer with the wave of his hand. Keith took the first move and sat down on the grass for a moment, then laid down on his back. Seeing as this was what Keith wanted to do, Lance quickly did the same laying down facing the opposite direction like they had done the night of the meteor shower. They said nothing leaving for the air to be filled with the sounds of the cicadas. 

Lance's cheek was tickled from the fine hairs on Keith's causing him to gulp hard. They had only ever been this close for one other reason. His mind scrambled to find something to say to distract him. 

"You know any constellations?" 

"Not really. You?" 

He licked his lips before beginning. He was terrible at astronomy and physics but if there was one other thing that he and Veronica shared outside of surfing, it was constellations. 

"You see that one to the right? Well, your left." he pointed. "That's Ophiuchus or the serpent bearer. It's based off of this dude Asclepius who was a healer. It's part of the Hercules family of constellations which should be right...there." His pointer finger moved. I'm sure you've heard of him before; killed a frickin' dragon! Did you know that it is the fifth largest constellation in the sky? Both of them are visible during the summer. And that one? That's--" 

"The big dipper? I know that one." 

"This one is my favorite." He pointed directly up. "It's Cassiopeia. She was this queen who thought that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs--which wasn't true--so Poseidon sent a frickin sea monster to destroy her country!" 

"That got dark fast." 

Lance laughed. "Sometimes I wonder how those Greek dudes made it all up. At least they had the time to put them in the stars for us." 

"Yeah." Keith sighed. 

At the same time both of their heads turned to look upon each other with very little space in between them. Lance felt as if he was engulfed in Keith's scent; the flowery aroma that smelled dizzily sweet. Nothing was more intoxicating. He couldn't keep his eyes off those soft looking lips in front of him. In one move he turned himself around so that he was looming over Keith's head staring at the now upside down boy. Seeing him from this angle brought a small giggle to his throat. 

"Lance? What are you--" 

Lance finished the sentence with his lips gently meeting with the others, chastely giving them attention while he cradled Keith's head in his hands and ran his thumbs slowly over the sides of his neck. Kissing from upside down was a odd sensation, but that didn't stop Lance. After a moment of shock Keith's hands too reached up to hold Lance and he interlaced his fingers in his hair. Lance noticed that he did that almost every time. 

He broke away to look at the half opened and sleepy eyes of the boy under him. Lance allowed himself to lightly caress the side of Keith's face. 

"Lance. We need to talk." Keith's expression turned a bit more serious but was still muddled with sleep. 

"Isn't that what we were doing before?" 

He sat up leading Lance to do the same. "We need to talk about what's going on. With us." 

Lance felt his chest tighten up trying to preserve himself from the topic that he had been avoiding for several days. He didn't want to name what was going on between him and the other boy or name what had become of him and his girlfriend. Guilt seeped deep down inside him and made him feel nauseous. 

"Do we have to?" 

"We can't just leave it. Do you know what that means?" 

"Things can just stay the way that they are, I can just tell Allura that I had a rough week and I'll go back to seeing her...and we can keep--" 

"You--you did not just say that." 

Lance could feel Keith's anger tangibly cloud around him. 

"So you think that you can have a girlfriend and hang around me? Like I'm some kind of fucking side piece?" He moved himself farther away from where Lance sat. "You think that everything would be fine? That I'd be fine with that? God, you selfish ass." 

Lance's heartbeat beat inside of his chest with the ferocity of a drum. The thought of loosing the both of them made him feel as if he was suffocating. 

"Keith, Keith no, that's not what I meant--" 

"Then what the hell do you mean? Can you really not even fathom being with me like you were with her?" 

Lance had in fact not even thought about it at all. Being around Keith and doing what they were doing didn't feel like anything explicit. He didn't call it anything in his head. He knew that liked being around Keith--it felt like nothing he had ever been able to name around Allura, but he knew what loosing her would mean and what staying with Keith would mean as well or the other way around. He watched in terror was Keith's eyes glistened and his shoulders shook as they rose and fell.

"Are you listening to me? I don't fucking deserve that Lance. And you know what? She-she doesn't deserve that either!" A look of resolve washed over the other boy. "I don't want to keep on going with you like this. It-it's wrong. So...I'm asking you to please, please make up your mind." Two fat tears streaked out from his eyes. "I like you Lance. But if you still like her...I don't want a part in that." 

Lance was motionless as he watched the boy across from him come undone with regretful tears staining his face. 

Lance you asshole. You dick. Fuck. Why can't I...what am I doing...

Keith wiped his tears with his sleeve with a look of desperation on his face. "I can't believe that I thought that this was going to work--" 

Anger boiled up from Lance's stomach and stung sour in his throat. The promise that he made on the beach was shattering beneath him. 

"Please leave." Keith sobbed and stood up, wiping his eyes once more. 

Lance quickly stood up too and reached out for his arm. 

Don't go. Don't leave. Don't walk away. 

"Keith stop. Stop." 

"I said leave!" 

"Keith just fucking...LISTEN TO ME." 

The other boy was startled and gasped for air as he gathered his sobbing breaths. 

"I like you too, I like being around you, I want to be around you. But if I leave her that means--" 

"--What? Finish that sentence Lance. I dare you. It means that you're gay?" His puffy eyes squished together forcing more tears out. "That liking me back means that something is wrong with you? With me?" his yells came out cracking and weak. "Fucking kiss me again and tell me that you don't feel anything." He tore his arm from Lance's grasp. 

"KEITH." Lance's knees felt weak as he followed him into the house. 

Keith threw his keys angrily on the table and they skidded off it with a clang. He whipped back to grab Lance by the shirt. He shoved Lance back against the sliding glass door. 

"I have never liked anyone in my life Lance. Never. Until you. I really thought that you felt the same and I could see it." he let go of his shirt then his head fell down. "I know how it feels. You can either run away from it...or you can face it." His head rose and his blue-grey eyes sorrowfully pleaded wordlessly. 

Lance blinked back tears of his own as he dried Keith's soft cheeks from any tears that had once tainted them. "Please stop crying." In that moment, Lance couldn't focus on anything else aside from the fact of how hopelessly shattered Keith looked and the how he knew it was all his fault. 

What have I done? 

He pulled the boy close into him, squeezing his arms around him tightly as the both of them let down their tears. Keith didn't fight back but hung loosely to him as if his weight was just about to give out. 

"I don't ever want to see you like this again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for breaking my promise." He whispered. "There's nothing wrong with you. There never has been. It's me. I still don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm sorry. I don't know what I am. I just know that being around you makes a bit more sense than anything else. It feels like...I found something; something that I didn't know that I was looking for. I'm sorry...I can't...put it into words." He took his phone from his pocket as his heart thumped with fear but as his fingers typed the words a tense grip over him eased. 

12:36am: We need to talk. Meet me tomorrow at The Alley at noon. 

He tapped Keith's back signaling him to step back showed him the text. Awe visibly struck Keith's face. 

"Do you understand?" 

He nodded. 

Lance took in a deep breath. "I'll see you tomorrow too." 

Keith nodded once more. His tears had since ceased and he now looked relieved and exhausted. Lance's hand rose to cup his face once more and smiled hopefully. He didn't want to linger there any longer, he had already overstayed his welcome; but not before he addressed one last thing Keith had said. 

He took Keith by his shoulders and flipped them using his weight to push Keith into the door. He closed the space between them by crashing his lips into Keith's. His arms journeyed up and down his back before finding their place wrapped around his sides. The warmth from Keith's mouth felt safe and laced with compassion. The closeness of it all made Lance feel unabashedly gleeful. Once again he felt the pressure of Keith's fingers exploring his hair and pulling it slightly; the sensation on his scalp was like nothing else. His tongue politely asked for permission to enter and was granted access slowly by the other boy who's breaths quickened in response. 

Lance broke away for a moment to take in the remarkable boy inches away. 

"I do feel something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer fluffy/angsty one :) After writing the behemoth that was those last two chapters I was a bit burnt out lol but we've got some more big things coming and I'm excited to write more! 
> 
> This fic has become something very special to me omg the more I write the more I'm like damn if that ain't me. I hope that you guys might be able to relate to them too! 
> 
> Also we got a lil hint of a ~angry~ side that Keith has...
> 
> When I was writing this chapter I had to make a map of Altea Bay bc I picture it all the time but I kinda just wanted to put it together. I imagine Altea Bay to be a mixture of several places but I would say that it is mostly inspired by towns in the Midwest by Lake Michigan (even though in the fic they are by the sea haha). 
> 
> Next time: Preparations for the wedding are in full swing and Keith and Lance make plans to go together with Kelli and her girlfriend. Lance has a tough conversation with Allura and Hunk and Pidge are beginning to be suspicious of our two boys.


	14. Gardenias

"Ah Keith! Thank God you're here, the delivery guy showed up early and I feel like I'm drowning in roses."

Kelli tip toed across the floor of the shop around boxes and packages of flowers carefully wrapped up in plastic sheets spilling out on every inch of the floor available. Keith tried his best to to find little spaces to step so not to crush anything. He finally made it to the back of the shop where is apron was hung. He especially noticed how that day the whole shop was swelling with the intoxicating smell of the dozens of roses, eucalyptus and peonies, it was almost sweet enough to go straight to his head and give him a headache. Further towards the front of the shop Kelli let out a little screech in terror.

"You okay?"

Keith's boss was clinging on for her life to the front desk circled by boxes.

"Uhh yep, yep. Just tripped." She wiped her brow and stood in shock as she took in the chaotic look of the usually peaceful store. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

"Let's start taking stuff out and I'll tear down the boxes outside."

"Sounds like a plan."

Kelli took out her phone then music started playing from the two smaller speakers hidden in the shop. She hummed along to the tune while she tied up her hair. They didn't usually play music in the shop but today felt different.

"Veronica's coming in a bit past lunchtime--you should ask Lance to help out too! We can give him something easy to do." The flower shop owner grinned.

Keith clicked on his phone and opened his messages to his most recent chat.

8:07am: Come help us out later. And good morning.

After he shut off his phone he made the decision to start at the front of the shop and work his way backward. To his far right he caught sight of the small hibiscus tree vibrant under a stripe of sunlight. Suddenly under his fingers he could feel the soft tickling of Lance's hair and then he was in his kitchen with the cool glass pressing up against his back. He lost his breath thinking about it.

"--Pass me that box cutter would ya?"

"Oh! Um, yeah."

~*~

It used to be that Lance's favorite days were the ones when he didn't have any deliveries at all, but now they were the exact opposite. After what had happened the day prior, there was nothing more that he could have wanted other than to speed across town to see the boy that he knew would be there. But still, it wasn't like the extra sleep was unwelcome.

"Lance! Lance? Levantate! Los ninos are waiting!"

Lance's mother's shrill voice could always be heard from anywhere in the house and there was no ignoring the power that her voice could hold over those who were sleeping.

"Ma...what are you talking about--" he groaned in frustration yet his mother couldn't hear. He had woken up on his stomach which was something that almost never happened. He only slept like that during his most comfortable nights. Once he thought about it, he didn't remember waking up even once.

"LANCE!"

"Ay Maaaaaa! ¿¿Que??" This time he groaned a little bit louder.

"Lance, just get on down here, you gotta keep up on your promise right?"

The unfamiliar morning-time voice of his brother Luis called up the stairs. He was also never up this early.

"Promise?" He asked himself.

"The park Lance? Yesterday you said that you wanted to take the kids to the park?"

Lance could hear Luis' grin behind his words. It was a set up.

He lazily turned to his left where his clock read 9:03 am. "I'm up, I'm up." he called back. When he sat up he felt a slight rush to his head and tried to steady himself after feeling dizzy. His mouth felt dry and craved a drink of water. Lance ruffled his bedhead to peer outside of the slits of his shades. The morning sun was showcasing itself proudly and had patrolled all of the clouds out of the sky. From his window he could see the crystalline blue of the ocean. For the first time in a long time he wanted to touch it.

He checked his phone as usual.

8:07am: Come help us out later. And good morning.

8:51am: I will be there at noon then.

Reading Allura's text had hit him like those waves that had tried to drown him. He had completely forgotten he had texted her the previous evening. After he had cleared things up with Keith he had a hard time thinking about anything else. The night before he had hit his pillow feeling the greatest sense of relief in his life and greedily played the memory of the other boy's lips over and over again until he had fallen asleep.

What am I going to say?

Lance cradled is head in his hands as his mind buzzed with worry and words clambered together in his head trying to form sentences, a plan, anything. He considered how much of a miracle it was that he didn't blow it yesterday with Keith, and anxiously pondered all the ways in which he could mess it up with Allura. He had reached some resolve knowing that being with Keith made sense, but after he had disappeared for a little over a week, he hadn't set himself up for a successful conversation.

She must be so confused.

A guttural groan vibrated in Lance's throat. There were many things happening that day that he didn't want to face but knew that he had to. In his head he imagined that sad and disappointed look that would sometimes wash over Allura's face. It made his chest hurt thinking about receiving that same exact look.

He stood up and stretched, entangling his foot around his phone charging cord bringing his phone smashing into his toes.

"Ah shi--"

"LANCE!"

"Coming!" he yelled and rubbed his foot.

The McClain's sat around their larger wooden dinner table eating a particularly good smelling breakfast. As he sat Lance's eyes felt less fuzzy and he felt as if his brain had finally been rid of all traces of sleep. Outside in their backyard the swings on the swing-set gently swayed and the flowers in his mother's garden bounced up and down with the morning breeze. The warmth of the day seeped into the house but was met with the smooth cycles of the array of fans inside. Beside the table Lance's niece and nephew played with little figures of safari animals and made corresponding sounds to each one. The whole scene felt a little odd until Lance realized that he hadn't sat down for a meal with his family in a few weeks; this was something that his mother seemed to be stewing in.

"Nice to see you at the table mijo."

Lance returned with an anxious smile.

His mother sighed. "I know your friends are important, but I would like to see you at home. It's...the last summer--"

"--I know Ma, I'm sorry." Lance put down his fork. His mother's sad expression bore into his soul like it always did. "I'll try to be around more. I'm trying to spend some time with them as well--"

"Lo se, lo se." she waved him off with her hand and took another bite. "They can come over too! I can cook--"

"--That would be great...mom."

Lance couldn't help but feel ashamed. He knew that he had been avoiding his home, but his mother was right, he couldn't forever, not when he didn't know when he would be back next. He scraped his fork on his plate with a metallic sound. Briefly he thought about having Keith over. He wanted him to come over but he knew that he couldn't say anything more.

Next to him Veronica sipped at her tea. Lance could feel her judging gaze. She had taken that summer off for him and they had barely seen each other.

"Finish up mijo. You can take my car. Go to the one by the escuela."

Lance's eyes shot a furious glace at his brother across the table.

"Sorry, the...what by the school?"

"The park?" Luis answered, smugly smiling while he took a bite of bacon.

"Right. The park."

Under the table Lance kicked his brother in the shins as hard as he could but Luis was faster. The motion almost made him slide under the table. Their mother looked immediately concerned.

"My uhhh napkin. My napkin slid under the table." the boy swiftly created the illusion of reaching down and picked up the paper that was already resting on his leg.

I'm gonna kill you. He promised his brother silently.

~*~

Despite the fact that his niece and nephew were being unbearably loud on the drive to the park, Lance still noticed how nice the day was. He had rolled the windows down to let in the warm air as it passed; it whipped inside the car windows with force and blew Lance's hair crazily over his forehead but he didn't seem to care. The July sky above them was perfectly baby blue, only carrying the bright yellow orb that was the sun. As usual the Altea Bay seagulls could be found flying around in their irregular formations, cawing and talking to each other. As Lance drove up the hill and near Arus Woods the cicadas hidden in the trees could be heard making their calls. For a moment Lance painfully remembered how close they were to Allura's home.

Once they had traveled a little bit further west, they came upon the familiar view of Lance's old high school. Now that Lance knew that he had no more connection to it he couldn't help but feel a bit down seeing it once again. He felt extremely lucky that most of his high school experience had been very normal and happy--and he owed it all to his friends.

"Lance unlock the door!" Thomas whined.

The sunny boy hadn't noticed that he had pulled in to the parking lot of the huge city playground across the street.

"Alright alright!" he scolded.

As soon as the door was opened the scuffle of four small feet came running out of the car and onto the gravel parking lot. Beside Lance his phone vibrated in the cup holder that held it. A profile picture of Pidge making a goofy face mocked him.

"Wow you're up early," was the first thing that Pidge said.

"Ha ha." Lance rolled his eyes.

"Hunk and I are trying to catch a movie later...it has robots..." her voice turned sing-songy.

Lance's eyes wandered watchfully checking on his little cousins from afar then a stinging reminder echoed in his head of his plans for that day.

"Wish I could, I've got some stuff going on today."

"Stuff? What stuff?" Pidge groaned. "Is it Allura stuff?"

"I'm meeting her at noon."

"Well are you doing anything right now?"

"I'm at the park with my niece and nephew right now. Luis screwed me over yesterday to make up for me being out late."

"Park? What park?" Hunk's thrilled voice suddenly chimed.

"Hello to you too Hunk."

"Is it the park by the beach or by the high school?"

"The one by the high school."

Lance slipped out of the car and locked it with a chirp.

"How about we come by?" Hunk said hopefully. "I haven't been there in ages."

"I mean if you want to. I've gotta watch these kids."

"Come on Lance, let's hang! At least if you can't later then now...we can help you watch them!"

"Yeah Lance, Hunk's right. We'll be there in ten."

Pidge hung up leaving Lance feeling the heat of the sun bearing down on him especially hard. Never had his friends really felt like they were burdening him, but now he found himself feeling like they were one more thing that he had to manage; and he hated it. He knew that he could confide in them for anything, but with something this big as...Keith, he felt more and more unsure. In some ways, it felt like he was still lying: they had known him to be one way for such a long time and he couldn't know what they would think of him now.

Would they still trust me?

"Ahhh I love days like this!" Hunk stepped out of Pidge's front seat with a stretch. "Lance!" He waved vehemently at the group.

"Hey Bud!" He called from the top of the jungle gym. He had been immersed in a game of "the floor is lava."

"Hunk!" His niece Mia squeaked.

"Hey Squirt!" Hunk beamed, then took off running with wood-chips spraying under his steps.

Farther off, Pidge sat down cross legged on a bench. Lance could tell from her downward glance that something wasn't right. He joined her and winced a little when his bare legs met the hot plastic.

He nudged his shoulder into hers. "What's up?"

She sighed then dragged her feet around in the wood-chips making little circles.

"Something feels different Lance, and I'm having a hard time figuring out what it is."

Lance sighed too; he knew what she was talking about. She was talking about him.

"Well, I know you Pidge. We keep saying that it's the last summer so let's just leave it at that! Let's not overthink it--"

"You know what I mean Lance. In the past, me and you and Hunk, we would do everything together during the summer. We still hang out, but I feel like we don't see you as much..."

Is that how it's been?

"I get that you have a girlfriend now and that you have that responsibility but I just want you to make some time for us, okay?"

Lance's knuckles turned white as he gripped the waxy feeling bench.

"I'm sorry that you've been feeling that way--I mean, I'm sorry that I've been doing that."

"It's fine."

A couple songbirds flew past them whistling. Hunk giggled as he chased around the two little kids who giggled back.

"Hunk feels the same way you know. He's just too nice. He didn't want you to feel bad, but--"

"--I do feel bad Pidge. There's no excuses. You guys are my best friends. I have a responsibility to you too...even more than I do to Allura." His tone turned grave.

"You can bring Keith around too." she quickly added. "Hunk and I think he's cool. Plus he's a good opponent to have in VLD."

The two of them grinned together.

"Yeah, he is."

"I think it's funny that the two of you are hanging out all of a sudden. You two have been spending a lot of time together too. I don't know how you haven't talked his ear off yet." She chuckled and Lance gave her a playful punch in response.

"I'm not that bad!"

"You're an acquired taste."Pidge joked.

"...I don't think he cares." Lance said, feeling a blush rush to his cheeks.

"Whatever." she punched him back. "I guess if you want you can bring Allura around too, neither of us have really officially met her."

Instantly Lance's mood shifted and panic set in. The ease that he had felt before making jokes faded.

"Uh--I don't know..."

"Why not?! Hunk and I have to give our approval." She smirked.

"I don't think that would be the best ide--"

"--Is there something wrong?"

"What?"

"If you know me then I know you Lance. Is there something going on with you two?"

Lance felt himself give in. Pidge had a sort of presence about her that demanded compliance; not in a demeaning way, but in a way that made Lance feel like he was disappointing her if he didn't tell the truth.

"There is something...I don't think that...we're working."

Pidge turned to give the boy sitting next to her her full attention.

"Why do you think that? If-If you don't mind me asking. It's just...every time that you talked to us about her I thought that you--"

"--Yeah I know, I just...it turned out differently than I thought it would."

"Okay okay. I get it. I won't press you anymore." she went back to digging her feet in the wood-chips. "You know what's best for you, I won't question it."

"I-I'm breaking up with her. Today."

Pidge gasped. "Wait for real?"

Lance nodded somberly. Even though it hurt to talk about it, just saying it out loud started to ease that pain.

"Wow." she simply remarked. "Well, after you do, you sure you don't wanna see a movie with Hunk and I? Should be a good distraction."

Lance remembered Keith's text from earlier that morning. "When? I'm gonna go help out Keith with something."

"We can go later! I kinda like going to movies that are at night."

"Okay." Lance released a smile dipped in relief.

"Sounds great!" She shot up and confidently placed her hands on her hips then pushed up her glasses. "Tag, you're It!" She squealed after tapping him and took off running.

"Hey!"

"Lance is It!" she called to the others on the playground who immediately scrambled once Lance started jogging towards them.

"I'm gonna get ya!" He playfully growled and reached out to snatch up his niece.

~*~

The midday sun's waves bore down relentlessly. As the day went on it heated up, scorching the ocean-side town below. The day had become so hot that few people could be seen walking around and were likely seeking the cooler water at the beach. Because of this the The Alley was partly empty save for a couple people walking out from restaurants. Lance found his girlfriend sitting at the bench that they usually did, right by the fountain; the same seat that he now took Keith to as well. The thought of the break-up happening here made him regret suggesting it: he didn't want a place as beautiful as this sullied by sad memories.

As soon as he was close enough, Allura's glace caught his own and she cast him a sad smile.

Don't make it worse. He silently commanded himself. Seeing how downcast the girl was hurt his chest.

Allura stood and reached out with a hopeful hug. Lance allowed it but didn't hold on for longer than necessary. He didn't expect it, but Allura held his arms firmly by her hands.

"Lance, is everything alright?"

Her eyes have him their crystal blue attention that had once made him swoon, but now he couldn't find himself lost in their glass-like shine; he just wanted to look away.

"You can tell me anything, if there's something wrong with me, please tell me, I never meant to upset you--"

"No, Allura, that's...not it."

Lance broke from her grasp and started walking away from the fountain.

Anywhere but here.

"Then, please tell me. Is there something that I can help you with? You've been so silent this past week; it's been so different from how it used to be."

How it used to be? How I used to be?

The sunny boy's steps quickened and his mind raced trying to find somewhere to lead his body away from that place and think up what to say at the same time. It was so dizzying it was nauseating.

How I used to be? Was that even me? Am I me now or was I then?

Lance cringed at the onslaught of existential questions that suddenly tackled him. He didn't plan to consider any of those things at all during the time when all he had to do was say that he wanted to leave.

"Lance?" Allura grabbed his arm to keep up. It was a touch that he had felt so many times before.

The two of them turned a corner to a side street of the main stretch of town. Lance's eyes searched the scene until he found a old metal bench under a young maple tree. He bee-lined to it and took a seat with Allura in tow. She sat next to him with her body turned towards him, looking confused and anxious.

"Tell me what this is all about. I was patient and I waited for you Lance, I think that I deserve are some answers. I'm...scared. You're acting so differently." Betrayal spotted her voice.

Lance took a deep breath in. For just a moment he only focused on the little sounds around him and closed his eyes. Birds chirping, car's slipping past, the ring of a bicycle bell.

"Allura, I think that it would be best if we didn't see each other anymore."

"Lance...what? Why?" the white-haired angel didn't cry, but Lance could tell from the quiver of her lip that she soon could.

Lance recalled what little he had practiced. "It's all about me Allura. Honestly. You have been so kind to me and all of time that we've spend together I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Ever since you saved me that day at the beach I was able to find something in you that was--is--so special and I'm so glad that we met but I don't think that I'm meant to be with you like this."

"Lance you're confusing me--" Tears began to well in her eyes but she forcefully blinked them away.

"--I'm trying to say that there is nothing wrong with you, you haven't done anything wrong to make me feel the way that I do...it's just, it has to do with me, I've been--"

"--Well if you feel this way about me then why are you doing this Lance? And what do you mean "meant to be with me?" "

"Allura, it's hard to explain, I-I've been--there's been things that have been changing, with uh--me and...they've made me rethink a lot of things..." He paused, then quickly added, "--about myself."

He took another deep breath, and thought of that other boy on the beach and the hibiscus. Lance felt as if he was standing on the edge of the beach once more, standing on the precipice of something much bigger, holding the hand of the one who made him feel steady.

"Who I was before and now is still me...I think...but I just realized...I'm made of so many different parts that make me up and I want to listen to them all. They've been telling me something that I didn't know, or, I didn't want to know at the time, but now I'm listening. I don't think that I can really be me if I stay with you. Allura..." He took a shaky breath in. "I've fallen in love with someone else, and... _he_ makes me feel like I'm myself."

"Lance, I-I--" The beautiful girl sitting next to him took in an uneven breath and let one sob escape from her lips before gaining her composure once more. "I think I understand what you are saying. And...I want what is best for you, even if that means that we can no longer be together...like this." her voice became smaller and smaller.

A tremendous weight lifted off of Lance's shoulders, he could not have predicted it at all, then again, it still made sense. Allura, the genuinely kind and caring girl that he had been dating never once said a word about wishing injustice against anyone.

I don't deserve this. I don't deserve her. Not after everything that I've put her through.

The girl wiped away tears that now became free flowing with her palms. Lance absolutely hated seeing her this way and felt that sickly feeling that he had predicted he would have. He wanted to comfort her in some way, but he knew that it wouldn't make sense. The two of them sat together there for a couple minutes, Allura gently sniffling and Lance with his eyes glued to the ground.

"I just wish that you could have told me sooner." she wiped her eyes and stood up with finality. "Goodbye Lance."

As soon as she left Lance swelled with emotion and let everything that he had been burying and holding deep down inside release. His sobs fell out unapologetic for all passerbys on the sidewalk to see. His body shook and quaked with his sobs as he tried to just pinpoint one thing to feel at a time but he couldn't. He closed his eyes and felt his limp body rising to the surface of the water and finally breathe. Lance took his hands and raked them through his hair and pulled until it hurt. He felt so relieved but at the same time it stung with aftershocks of guilt.

Even though she didn't show it Lance knew that he had broken Allura's heart.

~*~

At 2pm Veronica proudly swung open the door to Altea Bay Flowers with a grocery bag full of snacks.

"Help has arrived!" she announced, then promptly tripped over a small box of stem wrap tape.

"Watch it!" Kelli rushed over to catch her friend from falling. "What would you do without me Ronnie? The two of them laughed together.

"I could say the same! It looks like you guys are swamped in here."

"Nothing I haven't done before." Kelli winked and placed a couple boxes of flowers and floral foam into Veronica's hands. "Oh, this is my summer helper: Keith Kogane, he went to the high school with Lance."

"I've met him before." Veronica shot the boy sitting at the front desk a sly grin. "He's been over before."

The two girls shared a knowing glance obvious enough to make Keith feel uncomfortable. He knew that Kelli probably knew about of the two of them but he prayed that she hadn't told Lance's sister anything. 

"I've heard a bit about you...Flower Crown." Veronica giggled.

"How did you--" Keith stammered.

Veronica held up finger up to her lips making the motion "shush." Hearing his nickname come out of the mouth of someone who wasn't Lance threw him for a loop.

"You haven't come around recently...neither has my own brother honestly." She shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"I'm sure he's just busy hanging out with his friends before they all go. Lance is going to the Garrison right?"

"That he is." Veronica flipped her hair back with the whip of her hand proudly. "Takes after his brilliant sister."

Kelli nudged her friend almost causing the boxes in her hand to topple out. "After you these years you haven't changed at all. You're still that girl victory dancing after her freestyle at the deep end of the pool."

"I still beat you every time."

The flower shop owner shook her head in playful disbelief. "Help me set out the extra table in the back. We're gonna need all the space that we can get to assemble."

Keith was sitting in the back of the store surrounded by several large blocks of dark green floral foam when he heard the familiar chime of the shop door.

"Lance! So you decided that you wanted to come help out too?" Kelli said.

"Uh...Keith asked me--"

"--Just waking up for the second time today?"

"Shut up 'ronica." Lance snapped at his sister. "I had other stuff I had to take care of today, but thanks for the concern."

"Geez! I was just joking!"

"Is Keith here?"

"Yeah he's in the back, he can give you something to do." Keith could hear the smile on Kelli's face.

Lance's footsteps padded to the back of the store where he turned the corner of the back room past the little sink to an area where they had set up a couple folding tables to make a workshop area. The light in the back room was measly and tinted heavily green from the weak florescent lights; under them, Keith noticed how exhausted the other looked and how drained his normally sunny look had become. He instinctively shot up from his chair and it screeched against the floor. Keith let the other boy fall into his arms. The both of them remained like this for a short while.

"Did you do it?" Keith whispered in the ear of the other.

"Yes."

"And?"

"It's over."

'Are you okay?"

"Not completely. But I will be."

The two of them released and Keith ran his hand hand down Lance's arm trying to comfort him.

"Thank you for coming."

Lance shook his head. "It's not a problem."

Keith lead to the two of them to sit at the table and passed the boy next to him a box cutter.

"Here, cut it like this. We need to make the foam smaller for the urns and the vases."

Lance nodded and quietly did as he was told.

"Hey Keith, I forgot to tell you we gotta make a couple crowns for the flower girls, I'm thinking about using some waxflower and some of those smaller peach roses."

Kelli walked in to the back room with a small plastic bundle in her hands. A white flower fell from the bundle to the ground.

"Ah, oops."

Keith rose and took the bundle wordlessly. "Are these for the arrangements?"

"Yeah the centerpieces."

"Alright. Sounds good."

As soon as she left Keith went and scooped the flower laying alone on the floor. He took it to the boy sitting down and tucked it behind his ear.

"Looks nice on you." Keith smiled and admired it against Lance's tan skin.

"What is it?"

"A Gardenia."

"What does it mean Flower Crown? Don't you know all about that kinda stuff?"

Keith gave him a small smile. "It means us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of ya that don't know, Gardenias symbolize secret love ;) 
> 
> This is a bit of a longer one, but I really wanted to get Lance's breakup scene right. I can totally relate to what he says about being himself. Also I feel like Allura would be the kind of person to be very understanding, but that doesn't mean that she can't still feel sad :( 
> 
> I didn't plan this at all at first but I love Lance and Luis' dynamic haha 
> 
> On another note, thank you all so much for giving love to this fic! I appreciate it so much that my writing is something that other people can enjoy and how my idea for a fic many years ago has turned into this!! 
> 
> We've still got some more drama to come...and fluff hehe 
> 
> Next time: Our characters attend a wedding and Keith has an unexpected meeting! Keith and Lance share a ~special~ moment...


	15. White Carnations

7:16am: Don't forget to dress nice! You do know how to tie a tie right? Just bc we're working this thing doesn't mean we don't have to look cute ;)

Keith's arm stretched to the small side table by his bed and brought his phone closer to his face. It was something that he had never really admitted to himself but he knew that he was just a tad nearsighted.

7:32am: Ha ha. Of course I do.

Three little dots bounced in the corner of his phone screen.

7:32am: Great! Btw, idk if you asked him already but I did for you--Lance is helping us out today too.

The boy laying in bed pinched the space in between his eyes with his pointer and thumb. He had asked Lance if he had wanted to go but the other boy had hit him with a "maybe, we'll see" and then the two of them hadn't talked about it sense. Keith had just assumed that Lance felt uncomfortable about doing something that seemed so...datey. With the two of them still not really naming what they were together Keith had decided not to press the issue. He could tell that breaking up with Allura had put a toll on Lance so being supportive was the best thing that he could do.

Keith quietly thanked his boss for putting in the work for him. He would have been lying if he said that he wasn't disappointed when Lance had returned with the "maybe, we'll see."

His phone buzzed once more with a gif sent from his boss dancing with a little caricature of a cat in a wedding dress. It's wedding day! it read in sparkly letters.

The boy clicked his phone off to study the faint neon glow of the plastic stars sticking to his ceiling which were fighting the light of the morning.

"Today is going to be one long day." He spoke aloud.

~*~

Keith fussed with his tie on the car ride to the venue in Kelli's cramped minivan. He didn't own that many fancy clothes but he was able to put something together. The outfit that he was wearing was almost identical to the one that he had worn at graduation: a white button up and some skinny not-faded jeans along with dress shoes that he had specifically bought for the occasion. This time he added a black tie from the depths of Shiro's closet. His long hair was a bit hard to manage but he tried his best to tame it into something that didn't look like he had stuck his head out of a moving car. In the end, he decided that putting half of it into a hair-tie looked the neatest.

The hardest part was the tie though. He couldn't tell Kelli that he actually didn't know how to tie it. Luckily he had a cellphone and the YouTube app.

His boss sitting next to him noticed that he was fidgeting.

"Relax! You look fine! It's not like you're the one getting married today..." she giggled slightly, then tossed her curled hair back which released the smell of hairspray.

The outfit wasn't the biggest issue. It was who would be looking at it. When he was wearing something that wasn't his black hoodie everything just felt slightly off to Keith.

"I'm fine...it's just..." He tugged at the tie clinging to his neck. "Uncomfortable."

"Well I for one think that you look great! And...I'm sure that he'll think so too..." Kelli grinned at the road in front of her.

Keith sunk deep down into his chair. Even though the AC was blasting in the car he still felt insufferably hot. Kelli's teasing made him feel like they were a couple of high schoolers gossiping about their crushes--but it was Kelli that did all of the gossiping. It was terribly cringey. He also wasn't happy about the fact that she had figured everything out on her own--was he that obvious?

On the other side of the car window the wide reach of the ocean sprawled past to the right. Today it was still and sparkling and seemed to be electric blue under the sky which held few clouds. All and all, it was the perfect day for a wedding: not too cool or hot, a slight breeze blowing through, gentle enough to caress the floral arrangements and not knock them over. It was an outdoors wedding set with the backdrop of the sea. It was undoubtedly going to be very beautiful. Keith already knew.

~*~

"This is it!" Kelli announced as she stepped out of her van and cracked her back.

Her thoughtfully styled hair looked a bit out of place compared to the light wash overalls that she wore with them. In the car she had explained to Keith that she had a fancier outfit she planned to wear but she didn't want to get it dirty. Keith kicked himself thinking about how he should have done the same.

A side door on the main building to the venue opened and the woman that exited from it came jogging at them with a squeal.

"Kelli!!!" She almost screamed with joy. The younger blonde woman looked crazed: half of her makeup was done and her hair bounced with a couple of hot pink rollers.

"Romelle!" Kelli beamed and the two women locked in a tight hug. "You look...gorgeous!" She gestured to the other's whole body.

Keith thought to himself how she definitely didn't look gorgeous in that moment.

"Oh stop it!" The woman named Romelle said, blushing. "I'm not even finished yet! Wait until you see the dress!!"

"I can't wait! And you wait until you see these floral arrangements!"

The two of them bounced up and down and squealed at a frequency only dogs could hear. For a moment Keith considered plugging his ears but he figured that would have looked rude.

"Oh! I almost forgot! This is Keith, he's my helper for the summer, or apprentice or whatever. He helped me put everything together! Lemme tell you, this guy really's got a eye for stuff like this. He makes the cutest flower crowns, your cousins will look so adorable--"

"--What? Guests don't get flower crowns either?"

Lance's voice slickly inserted itself into the air. Keith turned to see the sunny boy looking completely different from his usual these-are-the-only-clothes-that-I-could-find-clean appearance. It was a bit strange to take in at first. He wore a loosely fitting white linen guaybera which was tucked into navy slacks that fit his legs very well, or at least, Keith thought that they did.

"And this is Lance! He'll be helping out today too."

Romelle looked as if she was practically glowing even under her half-finished makeup. "It's so nice to meet you all as well! Thank you so much for your hard work!"

"No worries at all Romelle. You deserve this."

Lance sauntered up next to Keith carrying with him the smell of cologne. Keith felt as if this different look made the other boy ooze confidence out of his pores. He already felt madly dizzied by it.

"Looking good Flower Crown." Lance muttered into the other boy's ear.

Keith choked down a thick gulp. "Uh-thanks, y-you too."

"Keith, Lance, let's get to work." Kelli squeezed both of their shoulders then opened the trunk to her van with a chirp.

The sunny boy targeted the other boy with a wink. Keith couldn't tell if he was feeling warmer because it was a hot day or because the cockiness of the other boy made him feel like he was burning up from the inside out.

~*~

Since when did he look like that?

Lance had spent the last couple minutes pretending to preen a floral arrangement when really he was inspecting Keith from across the room. He already knew that he was a sucker for the ponytail, but the way that his arms looked in that shirt was...distracting.

He laughed to himself slightly while he entertained these new thoughts. Checking out a guy like this was something that was totally new for him--he only ever had looked at girls in this light. There had been plenty of times when he considered how other boys could be handsome, but he never thought about a boy being handsome and wanting to tackle him with kisses--both the sweet and not so sweet kind.

Oh how the tables have turned. Lance scoffed.

"What are you looking so smug about?" Kelli had snuck up on him with a bottle of Crowning Glory in her hands.

Lance's mouth formed into a nervous wrinkle. "Oh...nothing."

"I know that look." She bumped her hip into his jokingly.

"A look? What look? I had a look?"

"He does that too you know." Her curly locks skipped a bit along with the summer breeze that also wove through the light white curtains lining the large wooden pergola designated to be the dance floor.

"He-he does?" Lance's hands searched for something to do so they decided to start patting down his shirt.

"Mmhmm." She paused and searched to see if anyone was standing near. When she ascertained that no one was she leaned in closer to the boy across from her. "I can also tell that he's dying for you to make a move."

Oh if she only knew.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Kelli tapped his shoulder. "Help me out with the altar, this trellis thing is gonna take up alotta time. I've got some ivy too that we've gotta wrap around the top part of this deck."

Lance nodded and stole one more glance at the boy who was primping the table centerpieces bursting with peach roses and peonies and were filled in with ruscus and baby blue eucalyptus. The intensity of Keith's deep gray-blue eyes studied them like they were each a work of art. Lance wondered if that was the same way that those eyes studied him.

~*~

Mid afternoon was nearing and the work of the small florist team was finished. The wedding planner, an older stylish looking woman had started buzzing around and was commanding the caterers and the decorators with a sharp voice that sounded similar to Keith's old math teacher--stern, but sincere. Soon enough string lights were adorned all over the wooden pergola and cascaded from the ceiling of the tent where the dining tables had been set up. The outdoor ceremony area had just been finished with Lance's help (to Keith's surprise). The assortment of various wooden chairs had been set up with little bundles of white roses and other greens decorating the chairs on the end leading up to the magnificent "crowning jewel" as Kelli called it: the altar which was wrapped in English ivy, white carnations, gardenias, more peach roses and silver dollar eucalyptus. The background to the altar was the infinite expanse of the glittering sea.

"Whatcha looking at?"

The sunny boy had snuck up next to him. He still carried with him that intoxicating scent of sandalwood wrapped in lilac.

"All of this. It almost seems a bit unreal."

"You've never been to a wedding before?"

"Nope."

"I have. This one seems a bit different. Believe me, you haven't lived until you've gone to a Cuban wedding. When you've got a big family like I do, there's like at least one wedding a year."

"Must be nice." Keith said wistfully.

"It's fun."

Below them, waves crashed upon the rocky land and seagulls called out in their usual caw.

"You did a good job." Lance simply said. "You and Kelli, you're really good at this kinda stuff. I don't think it would look this nice without you. And, those flower crowns? That's some good stuff."

The sigh that exited Lance's nose sounded content and comfortable. When the two of them were together this feeling often surrounded them. Keith could feel Lance's gaze resting upon him.

"Thanks."

"After this is over, we can go back to your place?"

Keith knew that he should have felt surprised, but somehow it didn't hit him; it just felt normal.

"Sure."

~*~

The florists spent the ceremony sitting near the back, watching the scene unfold. Keith thought to himself if he could ever feel love and affection literally in the air it would have been then. Never had he seen so many people crying happy tears at once. It was all a bit foreign, but the universality of it all was something that really stuck out to him--a bit like the cards he could put in the bouquets at the shop: there was always so much more meaning behind the flowers.

A small jazz quartet took their seats near the tent and started to play lively swing music. Dusk was riding the coattails of the setting sun and the sky had turned into the brilliant smearing of warm colors that Altea Bay was famous for.

Kelli lead the small group: Veronica, Lance, Keith, and her girlfriend Noah to a table where the wedding planner and the photographer also sat. Even though they were sitting towards the back again, Keith still appreciated that they had the best view of the whole scene: the bride and her bridesmaids chatting, family members reuniting with hugs. He couldn't help but crack a little smile at it all.

His boss sat closely to her partner with their bodies angled in towards each other. Everything about the two of them screamed that they were in love and were fearless to show it. Noah was a pretty looking taller woman with broad shoulders with hundreds of freckles hugging them. She had classy looking clear framed glasses over her unique gray-green eyes which couldn't stay off of Kelli. They would lean in when they laughed together, and gave each other quick touches on the arms or hands whenever they spoke. Everything about them looked so...effortless. Tiny waves of jealousy fussed with Keith when he saw those little touches.

Under the table Lance's knee accidentally bumped up against his.

"Sorry." The other boy said, then took another bite of steak.

"Don't be." Keith said with a rush of courage. His hand reached under the tablecloth to squeeze Lance's thigh reassuringly. He left his hand there and felt heat singe the tips of his ears.

Lance stopped chewing to give him the look: What are you doing?

"Keith? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice rang behind him and Keith's hand snapped back to his lap. He turned to see his cousin in a neatly pressed suit with a handsome looking man beside him.

"Shiro?"

"Shiro! I didn't know that you would be here!" Veronica piped up, then shoved a piece of buttered bread into her mouth.

Keith's cousin let out his trademark gentle laugh that made his eyes squint a little. "So many faces I didn't expect to see!"

"Shiro, I'm here with the flower shop, this is Kelli, my boss." Keith's words fumbled out of his mouth. All of these new connections were coming at him too fast.

"Kelli, nice to meet you." Shiro bowed a little.

"What are you doing here?" Keith asked, his eyes darting to the man standing next to Shiro who was awkwardly quiet.

"Ah, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce you to my partner--this is Adam."

Adam smiled kindly forming little dimples on his face. He had dark tanned skin and deep brown hair with black wire-framed glasses. He was also tall and built strongly like Keith's cousin.

"It's so nice to meet you." Adam said with an outreached hand.

"...You too." Keith returned.

Lance's wide eyes bore into him with blank surprise.

"Adam and the groom are old friends from the Garrison, he's actually one of the groomsmen."

Keith immediately noticed on Adam's lapel was one of the boutonnieres he had specially made.

"And Lance right?"

"Yes SiR!" The boy sitting next to him squeaked, once again ailed by a voice crack. He had sat up straighter upon hearing his name--he had done it so forcefully Keith thought that the boy was about to shoot right up and salute.

"I'm glad to see that I didn't loose my tie, you look good in it." Shiro obviously toyed with the bow tie on his own neck.

"Oh...sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. We'll get back to our table, Adam's got a speech that he's gotta do." Shiro winked at the man next to him.

Shiro winks?

"See you later." Keith waved as they walked away.

"You didn't tell me that Shiro had a boyfriend." Lance whisper-yelled into his ear. "I never would have guessed."

Keith poked an asparagus on his plate. "I guess sometimes you can't know."

~*~

Lance twirled his sister to the tune of the song "September" booming over the loudspeakers. It had been a couple hours since the jazz quartet had left and made way for the deejay. The clomp of dress shoes, heels and bare feet knocked on the wooden pergola while the wedding guests danced around in chaotic bliss. To Lance, it seemed like half of them were a bit drunk and the others were just having a good time. The sun had long faded into the navy night sky and the many twinkling lights lit up the scene. Candles on the dining tables flickered and the yellow flashes of lightning bugs could be seen sporadically.

It was no surprise that Keith had opted to remain at the table and "watch" the dancing rather than partaking in it. He didn't at all seem like one for dancing to Lance. Instead he sat slouched in his chair, cupping his chin in his hand looking a bit awkward and forlorn. Every once and a while he would flash a grin to Lance while he danced to look supportive.

But that wasn't enough for Lance.

September ended and "Can't take my eyes off you" swelled into the speakers. The smooth voice of Frankie Valli gave Lance that last spark of courage that he needed. He waltzed his way over to the boy sitting.

"May I have this dance?" He dished out his classic smirk for the other.

He's dying for you to make a move.

Lance had already made his move, but what Kelli meant was something different, and he had figured out what it was.

"What? Dance?" Keith became visibly flustered.

"What did I just say? You coming or not?" He offered his hand.

"La-Lance, what if someone sees?"

"No one cares here Keith, half of these people are drunk anyways--"

"--But what about Veron--"

"--What about her?? If she sees, she sees!"

"I-I don't know..."

Lance grabbed Keith's slender hand and pulled him up. "You're not going to regret it!"

Keith started out awkwardly swaying to the music and intently studied how Lance was moving.

He's so adorable.

"Don't overthink it!" Lance yelled over the sound. He started to bounce up and down a bit when the music reached the chorus.

~I love you baby, and if it's quite alright~

A wide grin spread over Keith's face and Lance washed the worry wash away in an instant. He looked a bit like a wobbly dreidel when he danced but his happiness was infectious. Lance nearly lost his breath from laughing and the corners of his mouth became sore from smiling.

The song ended and a round of applause echoed. The two boys stood gasping for air and their laughs came out airy and ecstatic. Little strands of Keith's black hair found their way out of his ponytail and messily covered his face.

God, I could kiss you right now. Lance's heart thumped.

The mood shifted as soon as the next song played: "Can't help falling in love." Once Elvis started crooning, all of the people on the dance floor had coupled up in each other's arms and swayed back and forth.

Keith stood motionless. "This is a slow slong."

Lance chuckled. "Yes it is."

"I should go--"

"Nope!" Lance wrapped his hands around Keith's waist and pulled him in closer. Their noses momentarily touched.

The beautiful dark-haired boy stammered a string of flustered words that didn't quite sound like words.

"This is the part where you put your arms around me." Lance's eyes didn't leave the others.

Hesitantly, Keith hooked his arms around Lance's neck. "Ar-are you sure?"

"If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have done this." The sunny boy lightly squeezed Keith's sides causing the other to squirm a little.

"Lance!"

"What!?" Lance snickered, then went back to admiring the boy inches away from him. Being this close drove him crazy wanting to close the space between them.

The boy across from him softened. "This is kinda nice."

"Mmhmm."

"Lance?"

Keith's eyes shone with the reflection of the string lights.

"Thank you."

Lance knew that it was a cliche, but never in his life had he felt his heart skip a beat. He squeezed Keith's sides once more and pulled him in just a bit closer. Their noses tapped and he felt Keith's hands squeeze the back of his neck in response. Lance's tanned fingers tucked a couple of those black strands behind the ear of the boy just centimetres away.

"No, thank you."

~*~

Keith tossed his keys in the darkness on his kitchen table; they fell with their usual jingle. Because of the dark, Lance assumed that no one else must have been home, and for that he was silently grateful.

"You want anything to drink?" Keith flicked on the lights.

"Just water. All that dancing's got me parched."

Lance slid down at the table and took out the little white carnation Keith had popped in his pocket back at the venue. The flower had fallen off of the trellis and Keith had dramatically said that it had no place on the floor. He ran his fingers over the soft petals, then the other boy returned with a glass of water and a towel. The two of them had decided to walk back to Keith's: an endeavor that taken them an hour and a half. The humidity of the night left them both sweating, but neither of them seemed to care.

"What do you wanna do now?" Keith tore out his hair tie to reveal his misshapen and slicked hair.

"Not sure. We could game a little bit?"

Keith nodded then toyed with his tie. "Do you maybe want to...stay over?"

"Oh." Lance wanted to say yes, but his brain first questioned if he could pull it off.

"You totally don't have to!" he quickly added.

"No, no, I want to, lemme just--"

Lance picked up his phone.

1:48am I'm sleeping over at Hunk's in case mom asks.

His phone immediately buzzed back.

1:48am Sure you are

Fear swept over him for a couple milliseconds until Veronica's second text followed.

1:48am ;) if she asks I'll tell her.

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm good to go. Would it be okay if I showered here? I smell disgusting."

Keith nodded and appeared to ease up. "Of course."

1:49am When you get back we're talking about it.

1:49am Have a nice night ;)

Lance already knew was "it" was and he preemptively cringed thinking about the conversation he would soon be having with his sister later.

~*~

Keith got out of the shower and scrambled his hair all around with a towel until it was almost all the way dry. He wiped his hand against the condensation gathered on the mirror. His hair looked like wreck--and normally he couldn't care--but his reflection staring back at him questioned what the boy sitting in his room would think of it.

"You look freaking ridiculous." He told himself, then combed his fingers through the mess of black until it looked somewhat organized.

In the next room Lance cheered along with the sound of explosions coming from the small TV.

Keith breathed a laugh then pulled on a black t-shirt. He walked over to the door frame of his room to see Lance hunched over a controller, shirtless with a towel draped over his shoulders.

"Fuck off Bowser!" He vehemently growled and smashed some buttons on the controller.

"Hey! You break that and you're getting me a new one."

Lance's head whipped back so hard that his neck cracked with a pop.

"Ow." He rubbed it. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long." Keith snickered. "You still haven't beat the final level?"

"These fireballs are out to frickin' get me man!"

"Let me try." He swiftly took the controller from Lance's hands and sat next to him.

Of course Keith knew he could beat the final boss, he had done it so many times before; he just wanted to see Lance's reaction. The other boy sat wide-eyed as Keith worked his way around the fireballs and the Thwomps and finally bounced hard enough on Bowser's head, causing him to spiral into nonexistence.

"Wow. I don't know how you do that!" Lance beamed.

"Lots of practice. Lots of time on your hands to play by yourself..." He trailed. He didn't mean to turn the moment sour.

"Ah. Well, you've gotta teach me how to do it." Lance said with a yawn.

Keith was thankful for Lance's undying sunniness. "You getting tired? We can head to bed now. You can take the bed, I'll--"

"--Wait." Lance grabbed the other's arm. "Do you wanna...both take the bed?"

"Oh. Uh-if you want to?"

"I do. Do you?"

"Uh...sure."

Keith quickly shot up and started turning off the stray lights upstairs, leaving only the string lights in his room on. His mind buzzed with nervousness.

Both of us? In the bed?

The two of them sat in silence on Keith's bed, neither one of them knowing what to do next.

Oh my god. Are we about to cuddle?

Lance discarded his towel to the ground, leaving himself open for Keith to see. This time Keith didn't try to shy away and not look. Lance laughed a little bit once he realized what the other was doing.

"I know, I know, you don't have to say it, I know I'm handsome."

Keith's red cheeks burned with blush. "Heh, yeah..."

Holy hell what do I do?

Nothing could have prepared Keith for this.

Just like at the wedding and in the forest, Lance swept Keith's hair back and looked upon him with affection swelling in his ocean-blue eyes. His hand lingered to cup Keith's face.

"I don't think that I've told you this, but you really are beautiful Keith. I just--I don't know how to describe it."

Keith's heartbeats banged in his ears. The boy across from him leaned in.

"Is this the part where I wrap my arms around you?" Keith breathed, but his sentence was cut off by Lance's mouth meeting his own.

He closed his eyes and let his mind go blank. All that he could feel was the care put into every kiss that the other boy gave to him. He indeed wrapped his arms around Lance. The warmth of their tongues met. Slowly, Lance lowered him to his back and positioned himself over the dark-haired boy with one leg on each side of his hips. Lance's thumbs ran over the little peach hairs of Keith's cheek as he held the boy's face with the gentlest touch. Keith used his own hands to explore the muscles of Lance's back, his fingers tracing every curve that they could find. A smile formed on Keith's mouth as he let an array of emotions wash over him: surprise, want, glee.

Lance broke their kiss to work his mouth down Keith's jawline then suck gently on the skin of his neck. The action both tickled and felt amazing: Keith felt like his body woke up at the touch and some less-than-savory thoughts crept their way into his mind. He buried his hands deep into Lance's unbelievably soft hair. Lance ran his hands up the bottom of Keith's shirt and his wandering fingers brushed up against the other's skin with curiosity; they then moved down to tug on the hem of Keith's shirt.

"Is this okay?" Lance looked up for the briefest of moments for Keith to nod. He sat up a little for Lance to take the shirt off.

Quickly Lance bowed to plant dozens of kisses all over Keith's collarbones then stopped to suck hard.

That'll leave a mark.

The sunny boy then moved and kissed around Keith's chest. It still tickled a little, but it sent Keith spiraling and any air that he had in his lungs got caught up. When his breaths did escape, they came out heavy.

Lance stopped once more, breathing a bit quick himself. His head tilted a little bit to lovingly look at the boy under him and for the boy below him to do the same.

Keith thought to himself how he had never experienced anything more beautiful than this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I l o v e d writing this chapter!! I think it might be my fluffiest yet hehe. 
> 
> I listened to a ton of super cheesy love songs when I wrote this one and I think it really helped :) 
> 
> Sorry for the late update too! 
> 
> After the fluff comes the drama... ;) 
> 
> Next time: Lance and Keith head to a party thrown by one of the most popular boys from their graduating class and an intoxicated Lance makes a mistake


End file.
